Strangers
by Paperclip-Assassin
Summary: They first meet in total darkness and he's fascinated by her voice. In the light he's fascinated with all that is her. Two people couldn't be more different, but in the end it's the differences that steer them towards each other. AU Tiva story with several twists and turns in the road.
1. Warehouse, Tel Aviv

**Okay, so this popped into my head when I was at the theatre today. It was a Hitchcock play, don't ask why it made me think of this. Not even I can see the connection.**

**It's all Tony's POV and takes place in Tel-Aviv, Ziva isn't on the team and Kate is mentioned to be alive, so it's obviously AU. **

**Also, it's like 1:30 in the morning right now and I just wrote this in a hurry so excuse any weird grammar or spelling because I nearly fell asleep while writing and even wrote in German for about 100 words before I realized that I switched laguages :P I'm weird like that**

**Oh**,** and it's probably going to stay a one-shot...just sayin'**

_**Disclaimer: I'm tired and I'd love to have a banana milkshake right now...and NCIS isn't mine, by the way...**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - Warehouse<strong>

He moves silently through the darkness, gun drawn, all senses on alert. It is dark and there is no sound but his own ragged breathing, still he knows that he isn't alone. They are all around him, hidden in the shadows of the hundreds of boxes and containers surrounding him. He now knows that it has been a bad idea to follow up on the lead on his own, without telling his boss. Without any kind of backup. Suddenly he hears a noise and turns quickly, ready to shoot, just to find a rat disappearing in the narrow space underneath one of the containers. An annoyed sigh escapes his lips. He's never liked these little beasts. But then a shot rings through the air and he throws himself to the ground. The bullet only narrowly misses him.

From his lying position he finds it hard to orientate himself and the lack of light isn't helping him. He doesn't know where the shot came from, or whom for that matter, but he still points his gun to where he believes is South. He silently curses himself for not taking his cell phone with him before leaving the hotel. Now it will take much longer for his team to find him. If they even realize he is missing, that is. Who would check on him at 3 a.m. in the morning after all?

Another shot brings him back on high alert. It is farther away and he thinks he is safe for the moment. Trying not to make any noise he gets up and tries hard to remember which direction he came from. Everything looks the same, so he decides to trust his gut on that one. He heads towards one of the smaller boxes and climbs atop of it, hoping to get a better view and recognize something he's seen on his way in. No such luck. But he sees a small amount of light in the distance and jumps off the box to walk in its direction. Unfortunately his landing makes one hell of a noise and echoes throughout the giant warehouse.

He hears hushed voices speaking in a language that is foreign to him and still sounds eerily familiar. It sounds dangerous. What sounds even more dangerous is the close proximity the voices are in. He doesn't see another option than to run then. So he does. He zigzags between containers, hoping to confuse his followers, but they're fast and have more ammunition than him, obviously. His lungs threaten to burst at the lack of oxygen and he doesn't know how much longer he can keep up his sprint. Just when he's sure that he can't take another step without fainting, someone gets a hold on his arm and yanks him out of the way of another bullet. He wants to defend himself, but he simply can't. He's too exhausted from running for his life.

When the amount of black spots before his eyes finally ceases and his mind starts to clear somewhat, he sits up and leans his head against a wooden box. Only now does he start to wonder why he isn't dead yet. They surely wanted to shoot him, right? He feels someone's gaze on him and tries to focus on the dark figure sitting opposite from him.

"Who are you?" he asks with a still slightly shaky voice, not really expecting an answer since this isn't America and he doesn't even know if he's understood.

To his surprise it is a woman who answers him in accented English. "Your saviour."

"But I thought you wanted me dead?" he challenges, raising an eyebrow, even though she can't see him.

The woman laughs a throaty laugh, which sounds incredibly sexy to him, before answering. "If I wanted you dead, we would not be having this conversation right now."

"Right."

For a minute they sit in silence, listening for anything that could mean trouble, but when nothing happens she grabs his arm and pulls him to his feet with a strength he hasn't expected from a woman.

"Follow me", she whispers "I know a safe way out."

For reasons unknown to him he does indeed follow her without hesitation, blindly falling into place behind her. She is shorter than him, he realizes, which intrigues him even more. How can such a small person possess such strength?

"Why are you helping me?" he asks, partly because he's curious and partly because he wants to hear her voice again.

She seems annoyed when she answers. "Because we are, as you Americans like to put it, on the same side, yes?"

"I guess so."

"Then you have your answer." She lifts a heavy curtain and they enter a small, dimly lit room. "We are here."

After the almost complete darkness in the warehouse it still takes his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the new light situation before he can see properly again. And for the first time he actually sees who rescued him. She looks young, probably in her twenties, but her eyes seem older. Her hair is wild and curly and her tanned skin seems flawless. She is truly beautiful, he has to realize, even in the dark green cargo pants she is wearing. When she notices his eyes on her she turns to face him and tilts her head to the side.

"What?"

He's taken aback by the harsh edge her voice holds and suddenly his throat is really dry. "Nothing...", he mutters.

"You should get to your car without any problems if you leave through that door", she points out the door to him "and I trust you to find your way back to your hotel, yes?"

He narrows his eyes at her. "How do you know where my car is parked?"

She laughs again in that special way of hers that he already likes a bit too much and steps closer to him, invading his personal space. "I have been following you since the day you arrived in Israel", she states with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, really?" that wasn't what he has expected. "So what are you a stalker or something?"

"No. I am doing my job."

"And what _is_ your job?"

"Getting information on certain people who might interfere with our missions", she explains and turns to walk to the centre of the small room.

"So what do you know about me so far?" He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at her.

"You are NCIS Special Agent Anthony D. DiNozzo, you work with Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee and Caitlin Todd. She has been to Tel-Aviv before, but for you it is the first time. Your mother died when you were eight and your father sent you away to a boarding school so he could have fun with women far younger than him. Later you studied at the Ohio State University and fell in love with your music teacher Wendy to whom you proposed later on, but she-"

He interrupts her then, not wanting to be reminded of that time. "Okay, okay, you can stop there I can see that you did your homework."

She sends him a smug smile and leans casually against a wall. "I bet Gibbs is already waiting for you."

"Yeah I should leave." He hesitates for a second before he walks past her to the door. With his hand on the handle, he turns to face her once more. "What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

He shrugs. "You know mine. It's only fair."

She seems to consider that for a moment before nodding her head once. "That seems plausible."

He sends her a bright smile. "So, what's your name then?"

"My name is Ziva. Ziva David." And with that she turns and leaves the small backroom. He doesn't realize that he's staring after her and smiling like an idiot.

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><p><strong>Well, what do you think? It's kind of random, I know, but I'd still love some feedback, because if I feel like it I might as well continue this...but if I do it might take some time for the first update to come.<br>**

- MiRii


	2. Hotel Room

**Finally I got around to writing this! And I got huge plans for this story, because it gives me the opportunity to write a few things I've had in my mind for ages. I don't know how many chapters it will be, but I hope you'll read and like it anyway.**

**Okay, so in this story Ari Never killed Kate, but he tried. It'll be explained in a later chapter, so I'm not gonna spoil it now. **  
><strong>And Jenny isn't Director, because if she was, I'd feel forced to write at least some kind of Jibbs and I simply cannot do that, sorry for fans of that pairing. <strong>  
><strong>Obviously Ziva never joined NCIS, otherwise this story would be pointless.<strong>

**Lastly, I have to apologize for one thing: I probably won't get Kate in character, because it's been way too long since I've last seen an episode with her. But I really like her and I'll probably watch some Season 1&2 stuff on the weekend for the sake of this story.**

_**Disclaimer: Nope **_*******popps the 'p'*******_** As much as I'd love to tell you something else, I don't own NCIS. Surprising, huh?**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 - Hotel Room<strong>

When he arrives at his hotel again he heads straight up to his boss' room to inform him of his encounter with the terrorists. He knows that it wasn't his brightest idea but he hopes that he won't be head-slapped to unconsciousness. Waking up without a certain dark haired woman to watch him wouldn't be as much fun. He smiles as he thinks of her again, but his expression saddens as he realizes that he probably won't see her again. He shakes his head as if trying to lose all memories of her, which is ridiculous really, because he's only spent a bit over fifteen minutes with her.

"DiNozzo!" a voice yells angrily. It comes from down the hall to his own room and he recognizes it as his team leader's. "Where the hell have you been? We got news on the whereabouts of the terrorist cell and go to your room just to find it empty!"

"Yeah...about that...I kinda investigated a bit on my own..." he says, his voice losing volume with every word.

"Define 'kinda', DiNozzo!" his boss yells furiously.

"Well I overheard two of the suspects talking about the location of the weapons. So I..." he gulps and avoids his boss' glare.

"You what?"

"I followed them."

The older man races towards him and slaps the back of his head. Hard. "And you call yourself Senior Field Agent?" he huffs angrily.

"Well...yes", Tony mumbles, rubbing the back of his head. He looks apologetically at his team leader, hoping to be forgiven. To his relief the older man nods once and turns to wave the rest of his team over.

"Kate! McGee! Mr Dumbass over here has some new information and he'd love to fill you in, isn't that so, DiNozzo?" Without waiting for an answer, their boss leaves the three agents in the hallway and walks away. His friends share a gaze before facing him with questioning looks. He knows what they want to know. What the hell he's been thinking. And he doesn't know what to tell them, because...well it was stupid of him to go. But admitting that to the two people who would hold it against him for the rest of his career, maybe his life? Over his dead body.

"So...how was your night?" he asks with a charming grin. It earns him a slap to his shoulder from his partner.

"Short. Thanks to you!" the former Secret Service Agent hisses and glares at him, but somehow the glare doesn't impress him. Not after he's seen the one of a certain chick in a warehouse.

"Is it my fault that Gibbs fusses so much over me being absent?"

Her mouth opens for a moment before she replies. "Tony, you're a terrible, terrible person!" She slaps him again "We're in Israel now! If someone kills you here, no one gives a damn!"

"Oh, just admit it Kate. You were scared I was dead." He smugly folds his arms across his chest and smirks at the woman in front of him. She just snorts in return and rolls her eyes.

"No, I can assure you that that's not the case. I was just worried that I wouldn't get the five dollars you owe me back." The younger agent, who has been quiet throughout the previous conversation, laughs at her words, causing the SFA to glare at him.

"Oh, you find that hilarious, don't ya McBackstabber", he says.

"Well, yes Tony, I do." He chuckles again and the older agent turns in mock annoyance. He walks down the few steps to his room and opens it with his key card.

"You comin' or what?" he calls over his shoulder as he enters the small hotel room, soon followed by his co-workers. Inside he sits down in one of the chairs and waits for the others to do the same. When they seem more or less comfy he tells them how he's overheard the members of the terror cell talking in the street and how he's ended up following them in a way that seemed inconspicuous to him, which obviously hasn't been the case. The incredulous looks on his co-workers' faces make him once more aware of how stupid his idea has been.

"Just one question, Tony", his partner interrupts.

"Shoot."

"Why aren't you dead?"

And then he tells them about the Israeli beauty who saved him and suddenly his mood lightens up. He smiles absentmindedly as he describes the woman he came to admire so much in only a quarter of an hour. When he looks up to gauge his friends' reaction, he is met by knowing expressions.

"_What_?" he asks.

"You like her", states McGee.

He waves it off. "Do not."

"Do too", says Kate and leans back in her chair, smiling at him. He knows he can't really lie to her, but he still tries to deny the fact that he indeed finds her quite attractive. By the way she stares at him, he knows that he doesn't need to say anymore anyway.

"So, what's her name?" McGee re-joins the conversation after a couple of minutes.

He thinks for a moment before he answers. "Zee-vah", he finally says, stretching her name out. It makes his stomach flutter and that throws him off-guard. Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS' infamous playboy, doesn't get a stomach-flutter from a random girl! But then...she's not random, is she? He's always had a thing for girls with guns, after all. Must be his overdose of James Bond movies in the past.

"Tony? You're awfully quiet..." Kate says softly, calling him back to reality. "I think you really like her."

"What does it matter? I'm never gonna see her again anyway", he says and looks up to stare at the ceiling, avoiding his friends' eyes. Suddenly the two others burst into laughter and he sits up straight again, watching them almost rolling on the floor.

"Did you h-hear that...Mc-Gee?"

"Yeah!" The younger agent shakes once more with laughter. "The big player, who usually sees women as objects, has a serious crush on a girl he just met!"

"Jeez, thanks for the support", he mutters.

"I'm sorry, Tony. But you know how unbelievable that sounds, right?" Kate puts a hand on his shoulder. He nods, knowing that he isn't ever going to tell them anything like that again. Usually he isthe one making fun of them, the other way around just isn't right.

**...**

They talk for almost another hour until a hard knock sounds at the door and he gets up to open it. Of course it's their boss, telling them to sleep for a couple more hours, before they need to meet up with one of their contacts. McGee leaves immediately after the announcement , but Kate stays and it bothers him, because he knows she's going to try and get more information on his mystery girl. And he can't give it to her, because firstly, he doesn't want to, and secondly, he doesn't know more than he already told her himself. He lies down on top of the sheets on his bed and she sits back down in one of the chairs, looking at him.

"Tel Aviv isn't that big. You might just see her again", she tries to cheer him up.

"And tell her what? '_Hey, remember me? I'm the guy who fainted after you saved him from a bullet'_?" he asks sarcastically, giving away a fact he has kept to himself earlier, much to her amusement.

"You _fainted_?"

"Hey! I almost died of the plague not too long ago!" he defends himself, knowing it would make her feel bad.

"You're right. Sorry..." He thinks she wants to say more, but her phone rings and she answers it. "Todd?..." she rolls her eyes. "Got it, Gibbs. I'm leaving now." She gets up, flipping her phone shut.

"The boss?"

"He says sleeping wasn't a suggestion. I wonder how he even knows I'm still here."

"He's Gibbs." This seems to be explanation enough for her and she walks out the door, calling a soft '_goodnight_' over her shoulder, despite the fact that it is already six thirty in the morning.

**...**

He wakes up to the alarm of his cell phone and wonders when he's set it, because he doesn't remember. It's almost noon and for a moment he's afraid that he's overslept, but if that was the case, Gibbs would have woken him already. He gets up and makes his way to the bathroom for his morning routine. After a quick shower he dresses in a pair of jeans and a plain white shirt, eats a granola bar for breakfast and holsters his gun to his side. Just when he's finished, he hears his door open and the familiar voice of his partner calls for him to come down to the lobby.

"Finally found your way out of bed, DiNozzo?" his boss huffs from where he is sitting in the company of his partner and a man he doesn't recognize.

"Yeah...morning, boss." He joins them and raises an eyebrow at his partner in the hope to get information on the man in front of him. There's something in his eyes that he doesn't trust. It reminds him of Ari Haswari, the man who almost killed his partner a year ago.

It's his boss who speaks instead of her. "DiNozzo, this is our contact Chayim Levi. He's Mossad. Vance talked to his Deputy Director David and he is willing to cooperate with NCIS in order to stop the smuggling of weapons, which is the reason we're here."

At the mention of the name, Tony listens more closely. "Okay. So when are we going to meet with him?"

"The Director sent me to get you and bring him straight to his office now", Levi speaks up and stands. "This is okay with you, yes?"

"Sure." Gibbs says and they leave the hotel to walk the dusty streets of Tel Aviv and Tony wonders if the name '_David'_ is just really common and it's all a big coincidence. But of course there's no such thing.

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><p><strong>Sorry for this filler-chapter<em>ish<em> update, but I think y'all know what's gonna happen next...we got a Tiva chapter coming up! :D**  
><strong>Review because I tried really hard?<strong>


	3. Mossad HQ

**Another one! Woohoo! It's kinda short, but an update nonetheless ;))**

**Okay, so I didn't have the time to read it over for mistakes of any kind, because I'm supposed to be asleep by now and my mom's pretty pissed.**

**Also, I got no idea when I'll have the time to write another chap, because my life pretty much sucks at the moment with school and other teenage-stuff **_(sometimes I wish I was back in kindergarten when boys where still icky...life was easier then...) _**Let's hope for the weekend to be homework-less. **_(-that's not a word, is it?)**  
><strong>_

**Enough of me being depressed. Enjoy the update!**

_**Disclaimer: To make my day even worse than it already is...NCIS is not mine.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 - Mossad HQ<strong>

He is the last one to enter the huge office, walking out of habit behind his partner to have her back even though he knows that she is very much capable of protecting herself. The room is illuminated by the morning sun which is already too hot for his taste, but it looks friendlier than it would with the light from a light bulb. He takes the last free chair right next to the door and waits for Deputy Director David to make his appearance. No one speaks and he doesn't like that but neither does he want to break the silence, because somehow Chayim is sending him really weird looks. Just when he finally decides to say something after all, the door opens again and a man enters. He guesses that it must be Eli David, since he's followed by two security guards.

"Shalom", the Director greets with a nod of his head before he takes a seat at his big mahogany desk, the guards on either side of him. Gibbs gets up immediately, skipping the formalities as always. This man was never going to win a price for good behaviour.

"What do you want, Director David?" Gibbs barks in his usual manner, surprising the man in front of him with his tone. The Director says something in Hebrew before facing the team leader with a neutral expression.

"I wish for NCIS not to complicate our missions by doing investigations on their own. I am sure you understand that, Agent Gibbs."

He watches the two men in amusement, glancing at his partner from time to time who seems to be doing the same. They share a look as their boss names countless reasons for why his team is sure as hell not going to drop the investigation, but the Director doesn't seem the least bit impressed.

"It was not a suggestion. I already informed Leon that you would be leaving tomorrow morning. He will be awaiting your arrival."

"Oh, you think you're really clever, don't you, Eli?" yells Gibbs furiously and paces the room. For a moment Tony thinks that his boss is going to hit something real hard. He just hopes it isn't the Director of Mossad.

"Agent Gibbs, I will not tolerate this level of disrespect from you! We are civilized people in this country!"

He jumps up before his boss loses it completely. "We understand, Director David", he says firmly, earning a _WTF_-look from his boss and partner.

The Israeli raises his eyebrows and his mouth turns into a smile. "Ahh, Agent DiNozzo. I understand why my daughter spoke so highly of you. You have met her, yes?"

And this is the confirmation he needed all along. The woman who saved him last night is indeed the daughter of Deputy Director David. He hates it when Gibbs is right about coincidences. Thousands of different thoughts swirl through his head at once – one of them being what she's said about him - and he finds it hard to concentrate on the man who just asked him a question.

It's Gibbs who speaks again first. "Oh, have ya, DiNozzo?"

"Umm, yes. Yes I have", he finally gets out after another eternity of silence. All eyes are on him; Gibbs' glare, that promises that he's going to get one hell of a head slap for not informing him of his '_encounter with the enemy_', Kate's knowing expression, that shows that she put the puzzle pieces together and Chayim's mistrusting gaze, which just makes him feel uncomfortable.

The Director chuckles. "She wishes to speak to you again."

"We shall speak then", he says overly politely and bows his head dramatically.

"Are we finished here?" barks Gibbs impatiently. "We need to pack our things if we have to fly out tomorrow..." This is the closest Director David will get to compliance from Gibbs. Ever.

"Yes. We are done, Agent Gibbs." The Director stands and nods towards Kate "Agent Todd."

She gets up and joins her team mates. "Shalom."  
>They turn to leave but a hand stops him from following his partner again. It's Chayim.<p>

"She is waiting next door", the man simply states and he nods and makes his way towards the room where his saviour, as she called it, is waiting for him.

**...**

The room isn't as bright, mostly because the curtains are closed and the wooden furniture is significantly darker than in her father's office. She sits in a chair and has her nose buried in a book. He closes the door behind him and smiles at what he sees. She looks less like a soldier when she does something as normal as reading.

"Hello Anthony", she says without looking up at him.

"Tony", he corrects gently. She puts the book away and sits up straighter to face him, throwing a questioning look in his direction. He smiles. "Call me Tony. I feel like my father when someone calls me '_Anthony'_." He pretends to shudder at the thought.

"Okay, _Tony_." She tests the sound of that and he really likes the way his name rolls off her tongue. "Have a seat." He sits down in the chair opposite from her, so he can watch her without any problem. She looks right back at him, her curls framing her tanned face and her eyes sparkling. Suddenly she smirks.

"What?"

"Why are you looking at me like...that?" she asks with a chuckle. This throws him off-guard. _Looking at her like what? _His expression must have given that question away, because she smiles at him. And her smile is definitely a sight he's never going to forget.

"It does not matter." She shifts in her seat. "The reason I wanted to talk to you was, that I have something I believe belongs to you..."

His eyes widen as she holds up his badge and hands it to him. He must've dropped it when he ran from those terrorists. "Umm, thanks..", he says, staring at the shiny object.

"You are welcome. But I believe you have to go now, yes?"

"Why?" he asks bluntly. She chuckles.

"Because, _Tony_, your boss is going to walk through this door any second now..." she says just before the door actually opens to reveal Gibbs.

"DiNozzo! Kate and I are waiting at the exit, McGee's waiting at the hotel, Vance is waiting in D.C. ... everyone's just waiting for _you_...but I see you are very busy with flirting-"

"I wasn't flirting!" he says a bit too fast and jumps up, looking from his boss to the woman and back. "I...we...she..."

She gets up and smiles at the older man. "I handed Agent DiNozzo his badge back. He must have dropped it last night."

Gibbs tilts his head to the side. "You didn't happen to find his brains as well, Miss David?" he says with sarcasm, before turning and leaving the room. "..._BE DOWN IN FIVE!"_

It's silent for a moment while they both stare after the grumpy agent. She shakes her head. "Is he always like this?"

"Nah, only when he's at work...and in his free time." They share a look and grin at each other, before he lets out a small breath. "Well...I gotta go. Thanks for giving it back to me", he holds up the badge "I'd say see you around, but..."

"Meet me at the at the Shuk Ha'Carmel at five...", she says, and by the look on her face she's just as surprised by her words as he is.

"In English, please?"

"The Carmel Market...you have been there with Agent Todd, yes?"

He nods and sends her a bright smile. "I'll be there, Ziva. I can call you Ziva, right? I mean, you call me Tony so I thought I-"

"Ziva is fine...", she interrupts his rambling with a laugh.

"Okay...see you later then!" He gives her a small wave and walks out of the room. Once he's in the hallway he hits his head against the wall. What the hell was that? He isn't McGeek, he doesn't _stutter_ when talking to women! But she seemed to like him anyway and he is glad to have something to look forward to. Everything went better than expected.

Suddenly he's thrown against the wall and his head makes an ugly '_thump_' as it connects with the wooden panelling. He opens his eyes to find Chayim's face right in front of his own.

"You will keep your filthy American hands off her, understood?" the Israeli says threateningly, his nostrils trembling.

"Whoa, buddy! Whose hands are filthy here?" he defends himself and shoves the slightly taller man away. "And she can decide for herself whom she wants to meet."

"No, not when her judgement is clouded. I am responsible for her safety and I say that you are not going to see her again."

"What are you her _father_?" he walks down the hall, away from the guy.

"Her cousin!"

Those words make him stop in his tracks. Was everyone related in this Agency? This was worse than the Mafia. He turns to face the other man one last time. "Listen...Chayim...If she doesn't want to see me, that's fine, it's her choice. But I don't give a shit about your opinion on this." With that he leaves for the elevator.

"I will be watching you closely, Agent DiNozzo!", Chayim yells after him and walks quickly down the hall. Just before the doors close, he hears him mutter something under his breath. "_Chazim metunaf._"

He knows enough Hebrew to get the meaning of _that_.

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><p><em>*Chazim metunaf - dirty pig (roughly translated)*<em>

**I'm begging you to review! It's what keeps me going after a day like this!**

**oh, and who else is super-happy about there being a 10th season? I mean it was obvious, but still!**


	4. The Beach

**I am so sorry! I never thought I'd keep you waiting for such a long time, but there was school...so much school! And when I had time to write I didn't _feel_ it...and when I don't feel it I'm a terrible writer, believe me..**

**But today I woke up and exactly knew what to write! Yay! It's probably the first time that I'm happy to have a cold, 'cause it gave me enough time to make this chapter almost twice as long as originally planned ;P**

**I promise that the next update won't take as long. I'm on holidays from Saturday on and don't have anything planned, so I'll probably write a few chapters in advance.**  
><strong>Anyway, I'm not going to keep you waiting any longer now. Enjoy the update!<strong>

_**Disclaimer: I'll probably never own NCIS...but I'll keep trying!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 - The Beach<strong>

He can't possibly wipe his grin off his face while packing his few things back into his suitcase. Not when he knows that he's going to see her again. And he can't help but notice his heart skipping a beat when he thinks of the fact that _she_ was the one inviting _him _to the market. So maybe the attraction isn't only on his side, but she feels the chemistry as well. His eyes keep darting to the clock on the wall, but the minutes won't tick by. Not as fast as he'd like them to, at least. He sits down on the bed and just waits. After a couple of minutes he starts humming to himself. Nothing in particular, just a happy tune that reflects his mood. Just then a quiet knock sounds at the door and he gets up to open it. His partner smiles at him and enters the room. In the centre she turns to face him and raises an eyebrow.

"So...the daughter of the Deputy Director of Mossad, huh?" she asks.

"Yep." He sits back down on the bed, knowing what conversation is awaiting him.

She takes her seat in a chair. "It's probably a good thing that you're not going to see her again..." She hesitates as she sees the look on his face and he knows she sees something she doesn't like at all. "Wait...I know that look. You_'re not_ going to see her again, right?"

He shrugs. "Well, Tel Aviv isn't _that_ big...", he quotes her words from last night, knowing it will annoy her. She drops her head in her hands an sighs before looking at him again.

"Tony, this is not a good idea. It'll only cause problems. Just imagine if Gibbs finds out!"

"But you wouldn't tell on me, would ya Katie?" he teases.

She narrows her eyes at him and leans slightly forward in her chair. "I will if you ever call me 'Katie' again, DiNozzo."

"Okay. Agent Todd, ma'am." He smirks and mock-salutes her.

"Just shut up, or I'll tell McGee you're in love."

He jumps up with a horrified expression and stares at her. "I'm not-"

"He doesn't know that...and he's going to give you shit about it forever." Satisfied with her threat she smirks at him.

"You're playing dirty", he states and starts pacing around. The Probie will indeed tease him forever if she tells him about him meeting with Director David's daughter. And he doesn't like thinking about that at all. When he looks at her he's close to begging her on his knees not to tell McGee, but of course he won't do that. He's still got some pride left. Before he can say something she gets up and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I won't tell anyone. Just...try to stay out of trouble, okay? You can't trust Mossad." She gives him a small smile and walks past him to the door, leaving the room. He's left alone with his thoughts and his smile is gone. What if Kate's right and Mossad just wants to use him? It's a possibility, after all Ziva has already shadowed him for all his time in the city. He shakes his head. No. His saviour wouldn't do that.

**...**

It's half past four when he walks down the Carmel Market. His white shirt isn't that white anymore, because some idiot drove past him like a maniac and enclosed him in a cloud of sand and dust. No one except him seemed to mind. He smiles as he notices how very touristy he must look, compared to all the people around him. Of course he's not the only 'tourist' but there are far more domestic people than foreign ones, following their everyday life. There are women carrying small children and buying fresh fruits, vegetables and spices he doesn't recognize. Just as he's losing himself in the language around him - he finds it strangely musical in its sound - someone taps him on the shoulder and he turns to find two chocolate coloured eyes looking up at him. His smile grows even wider and, much to his pleasure, she smiles just as brightly back at him.

"Hello...again", he says and winks at her. She chuckles and motions for him to come and follow her. He does and stays closely behind, forgetting everything about his surroundings when he takes a look at her behind.

"Do not stare!" she says with a short look over her shoulder. He's not embarrassed that she's caught him, in fact a smirk forms on his face when she seems more pleased than anything else. They walk side by side in silence, and even though he has millions of questions to ask, he doesn't dare to break it, because walking through the streets of Tel Aviv next to this amazing woman seems like a dream to him. And he's afraid that he'll wake up once he starts talking.

She grabs his hand and pulls him in a dark side alley. And suddenly all his senses jump back on alert and his eyes widen in shock. Kate was right. Mossad only wants to kill him to get him out of the picture. He stops in his tracks, making her stop as well since she's still holding his hand.

"Is anything wrong?" she asks with a frown, tilting her head slightly to the side. He doesn't know what to say.

"Oh, don't play innocent...I know that any minute now there are going to be guys jumping out of the shadows to assassinate me!" He yanks his hand away and lets it wander to his hip where his knife is safely holstered. before he can pull it out, her hand is on his again, stopping him a bit too easily. He lets his eyes scan the dark alley before he settles them on her. Her eyes are wide and she opens her mouth. He thinks she's going to say something but instead she starts laughing. She laughs so hard, he thinks she's going to fall over and start rolling on the floor and she actually stumbles a bit and catches herself by resting her hands on his chest. And that does it for him. He breaks into hysterics as well as his arms come around her to support her.

After a couple of minutes their laughter dies down and he has to wipe a single tear out of his eye. He sees her doing the same before she steps out of his embrace and smiles at him.

"You did not really think that now, did you?" she chuckles again and he looks away, embarrassed. Her hand comes up to pat his chest in a way he thinks of as affectionate. To his surprise she turns serious. "It is a good thing that you do not trust me or Mossad", she assures him and walks away.

"Where are you going?" he calls to the shadows. She doesn't answer but soon he hears an engine roar to life and a red Mini Cooper rolls into his view. She lets the window roll down and calls for him to join her. He smirks. "I thought I shouldn't trust you?"

"That is not what I said. I said it was a good thing you did not, not that you should not."

She smiles brightly at him as he shakes his head and gets in the car. "Am I going to regret this?" he asks.

"I do not think so", she says and drives out of the alley while she lets the Mini's roof fold back. He thinks he's going to die the second she's on the street. She speeds up immediately and they rush past other cars and, much to his concern, people. He turns to look at her and wants to complain but his words get stuck in his throat as he sees how her wild curls fly around her head and the afternoon sun shines on her tanned skin. She seems to feel his eyes on her and looks at him.

"Eyes on the road! EYES ON THE ROAD!" he yells frantically, causing her to chuckle again. He hasn't ever imagined a Mossad assassin to be so relaxed. The rest of the drive he just looks out of the car as they leave the city behind. He wonders where she's taking him, but he's decided to trust her, so that's what he does.

**...**

The car stops in the middle of nowhere and she gets out first. When he makes no attempt of doing so as well, she opens his door for him and pulls him out, leading him to the edge of the cliff they're on. He's still stunned when he scans the landscape. They're looking down on a lonely beach which is surrounded by rocks and the only way down is a narrow pathway. It's the most beautiful place he's ever seen apart from his grandmother's farm in Tuscany. She stands next to him, her hair flying in the soft breeze and he has the sudden urge to hug her, hold her close and never let go.

"It is beautiful," she says without looking at him. Her voice seems far away and he guesses that this place must mean a lot to her.

"Yes. Very beautiful." But his eyes aren't on the beach anymore and she feels his heavy gaze om her. Her eyes hold a certain sparkle when she realizes that he doesn't only mean the landscape. Their eyes lock and it seems like an eternity before he speaks again. "Can we go down there?"

She just nods and leads the way down the pathway. He almost trips at one point and she chuckles, but apart from that they make it down without any problem. She sits down on a rock and unties her heavy combat boots. He just watches her until she orders him to take off his own shoes so they won't get wet. He smiles as he obeys her order.

Later they walk along the beach, letting the waves run over their feet every now and then, while they talk about their lives. He listens with sorrow as she tells him about the reason she joined Mossad. He's an only child, so he doesn't know what it's like to lose a sibling, but the pain in her voice is evident. She loved her sister Tali very much, that is clear to him. And then she says something he hasn't been expecting.

"I also have a brother, Ari, but I have not heard from him in a long time. After Tali's death he left Israel. Father stopped looking for him after three years."

He stops and looks at her in disbelief. "Ari is your brother?"

She turns. "You know him?"

He lets out a bitter laugh. "I wish I didn't." She tilts her head questioningly and he tries to explain everything without hurting her feelings. She obviously loved her brother- or _half_-brother - as well. She shivers violently as he tells her about how Ari almost killed Kate with a sniper rifle and he feels so, so sorry for her when he sees how the image of her brother, someone she looked up to until now, changes and she sees the truth.

"I am sorry, Tony. He must have changed a lot." She hangs her head and continues to walk down the beach. He can't stand to see her like this and jogs after her, taking her hand in his. She looks first at his face, then at their joined hands and for a moment he's afraid that she might cut of his arm and make him swallow it. Luckily she doesn't. Instead she sends him a weak smile and her hand tightens around his.

"It's not your fault", he says after a minute.

"No. But I think it is my father's. He was not very...kind to him after his Ima passed away. He said that Mossad men did not cry. It was something that had to do with pride. Ari was only twelve."

A soft '_oh'_ is all the response he can give her. He can't bring himself to feel sympathy for the man that almost killed his partner. But as he thinks about her words, he gets curious. "What's it like? Working for Mossad, I mean?"

She looks at him before she answers. "It is not easy, especially since I am a woman. But my father says I am better than any of his men."

"I bet you kick the butt of every guy who tries to touch you", he says with a chuckle. It earns him a hard squeeze to his hand.

"Not every guy." She says finally and his stomach feels like it's overflowing with butterflies... "Sometimes I just shoot them." And he has to laugh. He doesn't remember when he's laughed that much in one day.

**...**

He's almost sad when they climb up the walkway again and go back to the car. She has to promise him that she will drive slower this time before he gets in. It isn't that he's scared for his life with her style of driving – even though that isa part of it – but he just doesn't want his time with her to end. And neither does she, or so it seems, because she actually drives really slowly. He watches in awe as the sun sets, disappearing into the sea.

"Can I ask you something?" she asks when Tel Aviv is already in sight again. He nods and looks at her, waiting for her question. "You seem like a...gameboy, yes?"

He has to hold his breath for a second so he won't laugh at her. "I think you mean 'playboy', Ziva", he corrects gently.

She sends him a sideways glare. "Whatever."

He sighs and looks out the car window. "There was a time when I dated a lot. I broke women's hearts like twigs and I'm not very proud of it."

"Who changed your mind?" she asks and for a second he's tempted to say '_you'_, but he knows that it would be a lie. He doesn't know why, but he decides to tell her the truth. She listens carefully as he tells her about his undercover mission with Jeanne and how he's fallen for her a bit too hard. Back then he was too stubborn to admit that their relationship didn't have a chance, but now that he talks about it, he knows that it's better the way it is now. After all this day wouldn't have happened if he was still with Jeanne.

"What about you? Do you even have time for boyfriends?"

She snickers at his question. "Oh, I have had more than enough of them, believe me. It is not something I need in my life." Her words shatter his heart somewhat and he thinks that she's only been using him. Playing with him.

"Maybe you never met the right guy, you know", he says more to himself than to her, but she hears him anyway. He feels her eyes on him when they stop at a traffic light.

"...Maybe", she says and briefly brushes her finger over his, sending him a soft smile. It only takes five more minutes until they arrive a couple of blocks away from his hotel. He thinks she's just dropping him off until she turns off the engine and gets out of the car. This time he doesn't wait until he follows her. She wants to say something, but he cuts her off before she can get the first word out.

"Thanks for the trip, Ziva. It was very...interesting. Have a nice life." He feels awkward as he holds out his hand for her to shake it. She looks confused.

"What is wrong with you?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing..." He turns to leave and bumps into a man in the progress. He apologizes and keeps on walking until he's pinned against a wall by someone way smaller than him. The smell of coconut is already more familiar to him than it should be.

"You will not just leave me standing there", she says in a whisper as her eyes burn into his. He swallows hard to keep his cool exterior.

"Why not? I barely know you." He tries to shake her off, but doesn't succeed. "And you don't know me", he adds.

"I do not just take any person to the beach with me, Tony...", she says and even though he wants to, he can't look away. She sighs. "You are right, I do not know you...But I would..like to."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Her words do the job, even though he finds it hard to believe them. He leans down, watching her eyes flutter shut as her hands come up around his neck.

Before their lips touch she is yanked out of his arms rather violently. "ZIVA!" a male voice yells, followed by a wave of words he doesn't at all understand. He hears her answering just as furiously and he looks around to see her arguing with no one less than that jerk of a cousin Chayim. When the other man notices him he races towards him and punches him in the face.

"I told you to stay away from her!" he growls and spits him in the face before Ziva manages to pull him away. The man looks at her before he pushes past her to get to the car.

"I am sorry", she says as she touches his cheek that already starts to swell. Before he can say anything she's gone and the red Mini Cooper speeds away.  
>He stares after the car even when it's already long out of sight, refusing to believe that Chayim will probably keep her locked up somewhere until he's out of the country.<p>

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><p><strong>And? Was it worth the wait? Personally, I really liked it and I don't often like my own work...<strong>

**Know what? How 'bout you leave me a review...that sounds like a plan, right? :))**


	5. Ben Gurion Airport

**Tadaaa! Another update! Took me longer than expected, but here it is :) Just to warn you: Tony acts mostly like a lovesick puppy in this chapter. I don't know why it turned out like this.**

**And you might notice that this is significantly shorter than the last update. My chapters will probably stay in this length range (about 1,800 words per update) as it proves to be more efficient. That way I can update more frequently. I hope you understand that.**

**Thanks for all your reviews, by the way. You guys are truly wonderful! *hugs*  
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**_Disclaimer: It's still not mine. Now, isn't that unbelievable?_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5 – Ben Gurion Airport<strong>

When he wakes up the next day, he feels like in some sort of very realistic dream. He gets dressed mechanically and packs his remaining stuff into his suitcase before he walks out of the room without a look back and waits in the hallway for the rest of the team. The Probie is the first to join him, throwing his duffle bag to the ground, where it lands with a _thump_. His partner is the next one to come out of her room, pulling her suitcase after, her and smiles at him before a yawn escapes her mouth and she lifts a hand to cover it.

"Morning guys," she says, blinking a couple of times. McGee answers with his own 'good morning' while he himself just nods once in acknowledgement. He still feels like in a trance. They wait for a couple of minutes, McGee and Kate chatting about a book they've both read while he just leans against a wall and sulks. He doesn't want to leave. If it was his choice he wouldn't leave Israel again ever if that meant spending more time like their carefree trip yesterday together. And now that he's thinking of choices...in his perfect little world this ass Chayim wouldn't be in the picture, of course. His behaviour doesn't go unnoticed by his partner and he just smiles at her whenever she sends him a suspicious glare. McGee is, as always, oblivious to what was going on with his friend. Before Kate can say anything though, the familiar sound of heavy steps can be heard at the stairs and soon their boss joins the small circle, coffee in hand.

"You ready or what? Car's waiting," he barks and takes a sip of his favourite beverage motioning for his agents to follow him to the lobby. No one dares to ask when he's gotten ready and they all grab their luggage, making their way downstairs. They're all already checked out and he wonders what his boss must've done so that they needn't sign anything.

Outside a black van is waiting and he's glad that there's a driver, because he's had enough of crazy drives through Tel Aviv. Gibbs doesn't drive half as bad as Ziva does, but _speed limit_ is still a foreign word to his boss.

He's silent throughout the drive to the airport, partly because his hopes to have a slow ride within the speed limit got shattered at the first red light and partly because he still hopes that in some miraculous way a certain assassin will turn up at the airport. He's glad that his partner isn't asking any questions. Neither the Probie nor the bossman know about his trip to the beach and he intends on keeping it this way. What good would it do if Gibbs knew? But by the looks they give him, both men have a faint idea what his sulking behaviour is about. To his surprise it's Probie who speaks first.

"Are you okay, Tony?" he raises an eyebrow at how the younger agent hesitated before daring to break the silence, but he's too busy being in a bad mood as to tease him.

"Sure McGee," he smiles weakly, "Just...tired, ya know?"

"Oh. Alright." That wasn't the expected answer, that much is obvious, but McGee nods anyway. It isn't long until the car stops and the team gets out of the vehicle. To everyone's discomfort their Mossad driver makes a stupid comment about NCIS before he throws the door shut. He considers opening the door again and beating the shit out of the guy, but he feels the familiar slap to the back of his head and turns to meet his boss' steely glare.

"Don't even think about it," he warns.

"Sorry, boss." He closes his eyes for a second to regain his calm. After all the driver isn't really the guy he wants to beat.

Gibbs' hand is on his shoulder then. "I'm not keen on leaving business unfinished either, but order is order. That clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now grab your stuff and _stop sulking!_" With that his boss turns and leads the way to the entrance. Due to the fact that their departure was more or less sudden, they don't get any special treatments, despite being American feds. They have to hand their weapons over, a fact he doesn't like the slightest bit, and walk through the metal detectors twice. He's been at the airport for ten minutes and already feels like walking out again.

**...**

He's bored out of his mind while they wait for their plane to arrive with two hours delay. His butt hurts from the hard chair he's sitting in and his partner's gaze annoys him. He knows that she's only waiting for their boss and the younger agent to leave, so she can ask her questions. And he also knows that it won't take long until she gets to do that, because another of Gibbs' coffee runs is soon to come and McGee goes to the bathroom frequently anyway. Five minutes later he's proven right as Gibbs gets up without a word of explanation and disappears in the mass of people at the gates and the Probie excuses himself.

"Bathroom again, McGirl?" he teases with a grin.

The younger agent rolls his eyes. "I drank two litres of water!"

He laughs as the other man disappears as well and then turns reluctantly to face his partner. "Go on. Get it off your chest..."

"What the_ hell_ happened yesterday?" she asks, narrowing her eyes. Her gaze is piercing and he squirms under the weight it holds.

"Nothing."

"I'm a trained profiler, DiNozzo." She gets up from her chair and sits down in the one next to his, so she can whisper in his ear. "Your mouth twitches when you lie."

"Okay. Fine. We went to the beach," he finally gives in with a sigh, not at all happy that she's got him to talk to easily.

"The beach?" she sounds unconvinced. "Did you go swimming? Or naked sun bathing?"

"Who went naked sun bathing?" comes McGee's innocent voice from behind them.

"No one, McWeakBladder," he groans. Now he has to tell the Probie too. Unless...he has an idea. "We were just talking about things Gibbs would never do."

"Went sun bathing once. Got sunburnt." They all turn in sync at their bosses familiar voice and stare at him. Did he really just say that?

"But that was just normal sunbathing, right boss? You weren't, uh, naked, right?" McGee blushes a bright shade of red as he stammers the words out. Gibbs just smirks.

"Did some pretty weird stuff when I was young..." Before he can say more his phone rings and he walks a couple of feet away to answer it.

Kate shudders violently. "I'm never going to get that image out of my head again. Ew." He ignores her comment, focusing on everything _but_ the new found information on his mentor. For a few minutes the three agents sit in silence until Kate apparently remembers what the conversation was about originally. "Tony...did you kiss her?"

McGee's head shoots up. "Kiss whom?"

"Ziva."

The younger man seems to think for a moment until he connected the dots. "Wait...Ziva, as in Ziva David? _That's_ the Ziva who rescued you?"

"Gee, thanks Kate," he mumbles under his breath and glares at his friend, who doesn't seem embarrassed that she's broken her promise not to tell anyone.

"Sorry. Did you kiss her?" she presses. Mc Gee put his comic book aside and is now staring at him as well.

"No," he says with an annoyed groan.

"Be honest!"

"_I am!"_

They glare at each other and he knows she's looking for signs that show that he's lying. But he's not, so she doesn't find anything.

"Oh," she whispers.

"Yeah. _Oh_," he repeats dryly and runs a hand through his hair.

She claps her hands together. "Well, then there's still hope." The two men stare at her with confused expressions. She rolls her eyes. "You didn't kiss her, so there's no reason for anything to be other than normal. We'll just fly back to D.C. and you can move on."

"What if I don't want to move on?"

She laughs. "Tony, do you even _listen_ to yourself? This is ridiculous!"

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"I'm so glad to have your support," he says sarcastically and gets up, walking away. He doesn't know where he's going, but the plane won't arrive until fifteen minutes, so he has enough time to clear his head. His friends don't try to stop him.

**...**

The last people are boarding the plane and he still makes no attempt to go back to the gate. His team has long ago disappeared, probably thinking he already boarded. He gulps down the remaining water in his bottle and throws it away.

"You are going to miss your flight," a familiarly accented voice says softly. He shakes his head to get rid of the images that immediately flash through his mind. Her hair flying in the wind. The feel of her petite hand in his. Her musical laughter...He sighs as he turns, just to find the one person he has wanted to see for the whole day standing in front of him.

He asks the first question that comes to his mind as he realizes that this isn't a dream. "How'd you get through security?"

She chuckles. "A Mossad badge can do wonders."

"And you just happened to be in the area and thought you'd visit the airport?" He can't help but smile at the way she rolls her eyes at him.

"No. I didn't get to say goodbye yesterday," she explains.

His mood darkens. And that his name is called out through the speakers isn't helping. He sighs and looks towards his gate where a stewardess is impatiently pacing around, waiting for the last passenger.

"So...I guess this is goodbye then," he says softly and prepares to step away.

"I guess it is."

"It was nice meeting you, Ziva." Before he knows what's happening she throws herself in his arms and attacks his lips with her own. He catches her and holds her close, cherishing the feeling of her body against his, while kissing her back eagerly. All too soon his name is called out again, forcing them to break their kiss.

"You need to go," she states.

He doesn't move. "Promise me that we will see each other again," he says, looking into her dark eyes, knowing that his request is pathetic.

"I promise." She gets on her tiptoes and steals one last kiss before unwrapping her arms from around his neck. With a sigh he pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiles a small smile. He takes a few steps backwards until he turns completely and jogs to the gate. Before he follows the stewardess, he turns again to take one last look at the Israeli, but she's already gone and for a moment he wonders if he's just imagined her.

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><p><strong>Favourite partleast favourite part? Anything I should've done differently? Don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts in a review! (:**


	6. Abby's Lab

**There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter...like 90%..._  
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_**Disclaimer: *sighs* I don't own NCIS. But you don't either, so that's okay.**  
><em>

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><p><strong>Chapter 6 - Abby's Lab<em><br>_**

_Everything's going to be alright. It's just a normal day at work. _

Those are his exact thoughts as he enters the elevator and pushes the button for the squad room. But if he's honest with himself, he knows that's the exact reason why he dreads coming to work that day. In Israel everything was exciting - especially when it involved his new favorite Mossad Officer – and now it all goes back to normal. The problem is that he doesn't want normal, except if it meant he got to see her. Then normal would be good. Normal would be awesome.  
>He sighs and straightens his tie just before the elevator doors slide open and he steps out, more or less – mostly less – ready to face work.<p>

"Good morning, McJetlag," he greets the younger agent loudly, waking him from his nap. McGee's head jerks up and he watches with glee at how his co-worker immediately scans the room with a shocked expression on his face and a post-it note stuck to his cheek.

"Urgh, Tony!" McGee whines, rubbing his eyes. "Gibbs isn't even here yet. You could've let me sleep for a couple more minutes…"

"Now where'd have been the fun in that?" he teases and sits down, calling his computer to life, before resting his feet on his desk.

"C'mon…that's not fair," complains McGee while trying to find a more comfortable position in his chair.

"Life isn't fair, Probie."

"Would you just _shut up?"_ Kate suddenly yells, rubbing her temples with her eyes squeezed shut. He hasn't even noticed her until that moment.

"Thank you!" McGee says with a relieved sigh.

Kate opens her eyes to glare at them. "Both of you, Tim!"

Her glare is frightening and neither he, nor McGee dares to say another word. Tired Kate isn't someone you argue with. She keeps glaring for a few more seconds until she seems to be sure no one's going to interrupt her nap again.  
>Silence fills the squad room until McGee starts to snore softly.<p>

He starts a game of _Spider Solitaire_ on his computer in order to pass the time until his boss' arrival. His eyes dart to his wrist every now and then to check the time, wondering what she's doing. It's 8:30-ish here, so that sets the time in Tel Aviv around 3:30 p.m. He guesses that she's probably either cleaning her knives, guns and other weapons she possesses or practicing some sort of special Mossad fighting technique. Isn't that what they do? He smiles inwardly as he pictures Ziva kicking some guy's but who's twice her size.

The elevator _dings_ and Gibbs strides out, walking straight to his desk to write something down. Before he gets the chance to ask him about it his boss barks "_We got two dead bodies._" In his typical Gibbs fashion. McGee and Kate both jump up and blindly reach for their bags.

"Where?" asks Kate.

"In here if you two sleep during your work time again." Gibbs turns to look at his SFA sternly. "Know what? Make that three bodies.

"Hey? What did _I_ do, boss?"

"Solitaire instead of work, DiNozzo." Gibbs phone rings and he picks it up, holding it away from his ear. Abby can be heard loud and clear throughout the whole bullpen, demanding to see the team and hear the story as to why they came back from Israel earlier than expected. Gibbs sighs and motions for his agents to leave.

He gets into the elevator just after Kate when a thought strikes him. "Hey…let's not tell Abby about Ziva, okay?" he pleads.

Kate smirks. "Why not?"

"Because I just asked you very nicely not to," he says through gritted teeth.

"Well in that case…we'll see."

_This is going to be the world's longest conversation_, he thinks as the elevator arrives at Abby's floor.

…

The three agents step into in lab to be greeted by her usual loud music and half of the room being dark. He looks around in confusion and narrows his eyes to try and see something in the blackness across the room. Suddenly the music stops and something moves in the shadows.

"Abby?" McGee calls out tentatively, taking a step forward. He is stopped by Kate, who holds a finger to her lips, shushing him. She nods towards her partner with a wicked grin and he understands. If the Goth wants to play a game, she is going to get one. They sneak towards the shadows and prepare to surprise their co-worker. Suddenly someone jumps onto his back and he yelps in surprise, causing the other two to freeze in shock.

"I see, you have chosen the dark side my friends," says their favorite Goth with a husky whisper before loosening her hold around him. He chuckles.

"Jesus, Abby you nearly gave me a heart attack…I missed you." He says while returning her hug. She kisses his cheek.

"I missed you too. All of you." With that she sprints towards the other two and envelopes them both in one bone-crushing hug. When she steps back she pushes a button her remote control and the lights come back on, together with the music. She takes a step back and studies her friends for a moment. "Okay, so what happened in Israel?"

"Nothing," he says all too quickly with a warning glare in Kate's direction. The Goth glares at him.

"Nothing? Then why do you look so…weird?"

"Weird as in weirdly handsome?" He flashes a bright smile and winks. It doesn't work.

"Don't you lie to me, Anthony DiNozzo!"

"He went on a date with the daughter of the Deputy Director of Mossad and now he's pissed, because she's in Israel and he's not and he didn't get to say goodbye," blurts McGee out and three heads turn in his direction.

"McGee? What the hell?" he yells at his probie, eyes wide. This was betrayal in every sense. He looks from McGee, who smirks at him to Kate, who tries very hard not to laugh to Abby, who has her hands over her heart and looks like she's going to vomit rainbows.

"_Ohmygodtony_! This is so cute! It's going to be like a real life fairytale because now you've lost each other and then you'll see her again after many years and realize that you're still in love with her, but she's married and you'll have to kill her husband and I'll help you because I know how to make all evidence of his very existence disappear!" Somewhere in the middle of her speech she's started to bounce around and gesture wildly, almost hitting Kate twice. "But then Mossad will be after us and we'll have to ask Gibbs for help and he's gonna go all snipery and help us shoot our way out of sticky situations…okay so this is going to be more of an action drama with a bit of romance in it than a fairytale it but it'll be awesome!"

"Abby…" he puts his hands on her shoulders to stop her bouncing, "as much as I'd love to go on a killing spree with you and Gibbs, I think you're a wee bit overreacting."

The Goth frowns and takes a seat on top of her desk."You're no fun."

The group chuckles and Kate goes to sit next to the scientist. "Tony…don't you think you should tell Abby the whole story?" She smirks at his death glare and Abby nods enthusiastically. He sighs in defeat.

"Okay, so we were investigating the terrorist cell you found out about and then I followed them to a warehouse. It was dark and I forgot my cell phone-"

"Wait, wait, wait! You went there alone? You could've been killed!"

"Do you want to hear about my stupidity or Ziva?" he asks in annoyance. He's heard often enough that his decision was dumb and dangerous…_dumbgerous_.

"Ziva? Is that her name?" The Goth claps her hands gleefully. He tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. "Sorry. Please continue." She pretends to lock her mouth and throw the key away.

"Okay, so in that warehouse I got surprised by them and ran and just before I got hit by a bullet someone pulled me out of the way, saving me. Turns out she was Mossad and pretty kick-ass. Didn't think I'd see her again, but the next day Director David wanted to see us and she was there too. She invited me to go to the Carmel Market with her, so that's what I did. Later her cousin came and wanted to kill me for spending time with her and they drove off. End of story." He doesn't tell them about the airport-encounter.

His friends' eyes are on him and he wonders why no one says a word. Abby is the first to break the silence. "You suck at telling stories, you know that?" He shrugs. "But your eyes look different when you talk about her…and you didn't once mention her boobs. I think that tells us everything, right Kate?" Kate nods and he crosses his arms over his chest.

"And what exactly does that mean?" he asks.

Abby grins from ear to ear. "You're in lo-"

"Don't say that! Just don't," he snaps, holding one hand up to stop her from talking.

"Okay. But you haven't acted like this since…"

"Jeanne." McGee and Kate say in unison.

"And you kinda deserve to be happy again, Tony," adds his partner. This doesn't help. They shouldn't be encouraging him. What happened to yesterday's Kate? The one that told him to move on? Hope is going to slowly and torturously kill him, because even though _she_ promised that they'd see each other again, he knows that the odds of another encounter are highly unlikely. He lets out a deep breath and smiles sadly.

"It's okay, guys. I _am_ happy." Before his friends can argue with him his phone rings to call them to a crime scene.

They don't bring the subject up again for the rest of the week.

* * *

><p><strong>...I feel bad. Like, <em>really <em>bad. I should've updated this ages ago, but I had problems with uploading the document from my computer and every time I re-read it I found things to change. **

**And I had to study for my maths test throughiut the last three weeks. My teacher hates me (she does, no kidding) and I didn't want to fail...well, mission accomplished - I got a B :)) my best mark since 6th grade in maths.**

**Hopefully I'll manage to have the next one up way sooner. I'll do my best, okay? Don't get mad if it takes some time, though. School's challenging at the moment.**

**Hope you enjoyed it anyway...*ahem* Review?**  
><strong>MiRii :)<strong>


	7. Bullpen

**Warning: Following chapter makes very little sense, contains random ideas and can mostly be considered as a filler chapter.  
><strong>

**That said - sorry for the long time between updates. I'm a lazy, lazy person.  
><strong>

**And if you think the last chapter was a lot of dialogue? You ain't seen nothing yet. I don't know why I suddenly have troubles with that. But I already started writing the next chapter and it's a lot better, I think.  
><strong>

**_Disclaimer_: _If NCIS was a fairytale and Tony and Ziva were prince and princess and they wouldn't be together by now I would start crying and throw the storybook away._  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 - Bullpen<strong>

Filling out paperwork is his least favorite part of the job. In his opinion NCIS should make all probies do the work as part of _their_ job instead of the SFAs. This is just plain boring. And Tony DiNozzo doesn't do boring. He sighs and squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, hoping the files on his desk will miraculously have disappeared by the time he opens them again. Of course he doesn't have such luck and his report is still lying right in front of him, mocking him. He mumbles something under his breath before he sighs and continues with the dreaded paperwork. Their last case has been blatantly obvious and he thinks some of the details that need to be reported are absolutely unnecessary and just there to make him slowly but surely fall asleep.

He looks up as he hears someone approach the bullpen but when he doesn't see anyone he just shrugs and re-reads what he's written until now. Soon he hears muffled voices discussing something and he decides to ignore it – very unlikely for him, as he usually gossips like an old lady and loves to eavesdrop – but then he thinks he can hear his name. Now that's interesting. He gets up, paperwork forgotten, and sneaks towards the partition next to McGee's desk. He can hear the Probie and his partner talk now.

"McGee, you are being ridiculous. It's Tony we're talking about," says Kate and he smirks as he hears the smile in her voice.

"I know what I saw! He was actually writing his report during working hours and not only a couple of hours before the deadline at around two a.m. …and he seemed to take it seriously!"

Kate huffs in disbelief and his smirk disappears. His co-workers really don't think that he can do this job? "Okay, okay. So Tony is doing his paperwork at appropriate times now, so what?"

"It's not only that. He offered to get me some coffee yesterday and he actually sounded sincere," the Probie continues frantically.

"He always gets me coffee," Kate states matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but you're his partner."

"True." They are silent for a moment and he almost decides to step out of his hiding place and interrupt their little DiNozzo talk. He usually likes people talking about him but this is kind of weird. Kate continues talking before he can do anything. "And you really think that it's still because of that Mossad person?"

_No. It's not_, he thinks immediately, and _her freaking name's Ziva!_  
>When McGee doesn't say anything he guesses that he either nods or shakes his head. He hopes it's the second.<p>

"Anyway. We need to start working or Gibbs will…I don't even want to know." Kate chuckles and he turns and sprints back to his desk. He makes it just in time and manages to look up in a way that he hopes looks bored when his team mates enter and wish him their good mornings. He nods at them and smiles brightly before finishing the last page of his report.

Glad that this is done he starts randomly clicking through the opened websites on his computer – most of them not suitable for work. He stops as he sees that he's got a new email from Vance and wonders why the Director didn't just call him up to his office.

"Um, guys?" he calls out, getting his co-workers' attention, "Did Vance send you that file too?"

McGee looks confused for a moment and checks his inbox. "Nope…why? What'd he send you?"

"Tanya Ribbons from Quentin's MCRT gave birth to a healthy baby girl last Wednesday…they're looking for a temporary replacement."

"Tanya's baby wasn't due until August 27th, it's only June!" Kate cries out. "Why hasn't she called me?"

He narrows his eyes at his partner. "And since when are you and dear Tanya BFFs?"

"We're not but she always showed her ultrasound photos around in the break room. She was so happy that everyone around her was happy too. I hope her baby really is okay, I mean two months early is quite some time."

"I was two months early," says Palmer suddenly as he appears in the middle of the bullpen "I turned out okay." They greet him with silence, trying hard not to laugh. "Anyway, Agent Gibbs sent me to tell you that he'll be up at MTAC for the rest of the day. Something weird is going on, but he wouldn't tell me what."

"Thanks, Palmer," he says and waves him off when he doesn't leave straight away. This guy really is giving him the creeps sometimes.

…

The rest of the day goes by too slowly for his liking and he actually really hopes some Marine gets kidnapped or at least arrested for drunk driving so that there is something to do. He doesn't even have any more paperwork to do and he decides to just go on a coffee run. He really is becoming like Gibbs whenever the silver-haired fox isn't around.

Kate looks up as he starts to leave and he knows that she wants to say something. She bites her lip for a second before she gets up from her chair as well and walks towards him. "Can we…talk?"

"Sure…you comin'?" She nods and they both stroll into the elevator. He's not surprised as she turns the emergency switch and the lights go out.

"Listen…McGee and I - and Abby too, for that matter – we noticed that you were acting very…odd lately."

He sighs. "Odd how?"

"McGee saw you doing paperwork this morning."

"I was bored."

"You stopped calling McGee by crappy nicknames."

"I couldn't think of any. And they're not crappy."

"You didn't tease Palmer earlier!"

"He's a good kid…"

"Tony. All of this is very nice and thoughtful but it's not _you_! Ever since we came back from Tel Aviv you stopped being yourself. And please don't tell me it's still that girl."

"What if I told you it was?"

She sighs and leans back against the metal wall of the elevator. "It's been a _month_. She could have contacted you easily, but she hasn't. What does that tell you?"

He doesn't say anything.

"That's what I thought. Now just move on, okay?"

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you? In Israel you already told me the same thing. Then, back in DC, you told me I deserved to be happy and now you're telling me to forget her again?" He's suddenly yelling at her, angry. _Who does she think she is?_

"It's better this way. Believe me."

"Just because you had a crush on Ari before he tried to kill you doesn't mean that Ziva is going to do the same thing to me!" Even before he finishes the sentence he knows that he's crossed the line. Kate stares at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. He reaches out to touch her but she slaps his hand away.

"Don't."

"Kate, I'm sorry…I-"

"Shut it, DiNozzo. I don't wanna hear it!" she shrieks and turns the elevator back on. As soon as the doors open on the next floor she races out, leaving him alone in the cold metal box.

"You screwed up big time, DiNozzo. Well done," he murmurs to himself.

**…**

It's just after four thirty as Kate re-enters the bullpen without even a glance in his direction. He doesn't know what to say. He is sorry for what he said, even though he thinks that his words hurt her so much because they held more truth in them than his partner would ever admit, but he doesn't think that Kate will listen to him. Not today anyway. That's why he's so surprised as she sits down on top of her desk and starts talking.

"I spoke to Abby earlier…and she thought it was a good idea…so I spoke to Vance…" This didn't make sense and he wonders what it's about.

"Kate…have you been crying?" asks McGee, his voice higher than usual. And now he notices it too. Her redrimmed eyes and her smeared mascara…and the remains of a tissue in her hand.

She sniffs and her attempt to smile fails. It breaks his heart. "It's okay, McGee. I just…I think that working with Quentin's team for a while would be good for me."

He freezes in shock. She's leaving? No. No, no, no, no, no. That's not possible…she can't…just because they…Oh, God.

"You applied for the job? Why?" McGee sounds terribly young as he asks that. Kate sniffs again with a short glance towards him.

"You don't have to leave Kate! I'm sorry I screwed up…Hell, _I_ can leave if you can't work with me anymore…"

"No! Tony, I know you're sorry. And I know you didn't mean what you said, but…it all came back. I still see his eyes before me whenever I try to sleep and it scares the hell out of me. And Tanya's position is mostly paperwork and politics, so I'm hoping to catch a break from the heavy stuff."

He tries to understand, he really does, but her words don't make sense to him. Their argument set a chain reaction off and now there's nothing he can do about it. He just smiles sadly at her. "If that is what you want…"

She nods.

"Does Gibbs know?"

"No, he's still at MTAC…I wonder what's going on.."

"Don't change the subject, Agent Todd." He says jokingly and his smile becomes more genuine as she sticks her tongue out.

"I'll miss you," McGee says suddenly but when she tells them that she won't be leaving until next week, breathing seems to be easier again. "Me alone with Tony? I think I won't make it until next month…" The three of them laugh and he's glad that she really seems to have forgiven him for his outburst.

"You won't be alone McGee. Vance got us a liaison." His head jerks up at his boss' voice. _How does he do that?_

"I was going to talk to you, Gibbs. I'm sorry," says Kate and steps towards the team leader.

"It's okay. The demons of your past will always haunt you and if this is going to make it any easier for you then I'll be the last one to keep you here." With this Gibbs smiles and offers Kate a hug which she accepts gratefully.

"Boss…you said something about a liaison?"

"Been listening for once, DiNozzo?" Gibbs sighs. "I think you've met."

As soon as the words are out of his boss' mouth a woman steps out from around the corner. Cargo pants, black tank top, hair up in a messy ponytail. His heart doubles its speed and his mouth goes dry as his lips instantly transform into a smile. Of all people in this world Ziva David is assigned as a liaison to his team?This was so cliché; in a movie he would call it dull. But right now it is the best damn thing that has happened in a month.

"Shalom, Agent McGee…Agent Todd." Ziva politely nods at his colleagues before her eyes land on him "…Tony."

"Hey there, Zee-_vah_." He sees from the corner of his eye that Kate and McGee exchange a knowing look and an eye-roll but he doesn't care. For now all he cares about are her chocolate brown eyes that he has missed in the past weeks.

"Earth to DiNozzo…you still with us?" McGee's voice makes him blink and he snaps out of his trance.

"Sorry McSpace…you were saying?"

Kate beams at him. "Glad to have you back."

"Gibbs wants to talk to you for a sec…" McGee nods towards the bossman, who motions for him and Ziva to follow him to the window front. Once there he starts to get nervous because he might have a faint idea what Gibbs wants to talk about. He swallows hard.

"You two…" Gibbs looks from him to Ziva and narrows his eyes "Rule 12."

Ziva looks confused. "What is-"

"Never date a co-worker!"

Ziva's mouth turns into a perfect 'o'-shape as she progresses the rule. And when their eyes meet after Gibbs turns back to the team she looks even more confused than before. They re-join the others at Kate's desk and she folds her arms across her chest.

"Gibbs, I have a question," Kate says and Gibbs tilts his head to side, waiting. "Ziva…I mean O-Officer David doesn't have any investigative training whatsoever-"

"Yep. That's why you'll help her for the next week."

"What? No, Gibbs, I can't do that. Agent Quentin's team is one man short-"

"You said it yourself – He doesn't need you until next week. For now you're still on this team…Always be specific when you lie, Kate." Gibbs looks sternly at his partner for a second before he leaves the bullpen.

"Rule 7…" Kate whispers with an eye-roll.

"Are there any more rules that I should know about?" The Israeli asks almost sounding desperate.

McGee chuckles. "Only about 50 or so…"

"Great," she murmurs under her breath and he pats her shoulder affectionately.

"Welcome to the world of Team Gibbs."

* * *

><p><strong>I'll try to have the next chapter up by Saturday. <strong>

**And from now on we'll have a lot of Tiva and since Somalia never happened it's going to be a lot of happy Tiva :D **

**Hope you'll stick with me even if my updates are infrequent and this chapter sucked...I love you guys!**

**So, until Saturday...can I please get a review? Yes? Awesome! (:**


	8. Crime Scene

**Rumor has it that she actually updated on time...now that's new.**

**Hello my friends!**  
><strong>Yes, this is actually me trying to stick to my own deadline and succeeding!<strong>

**Not much to say about this except that I kinda like the outcome and a little warning for mentioning of adult themes at the end..**

**Enjoy the update, it might take some time for the next chapter to be ready.**

_**Disclaimer: The fact that I'm writing a fanfiction doesn't tell you enough already? Jeez, fine...NCIS is not mine and I'm just borrowing the characters for my own sick fantasies. Mwahahahahah..Now dance, my puppets! Dance!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 - Crime Scene<strong>

He walks into the bullpen that morning, with a smile on his face and a slight bounce in his step, to find that he might actually be the first one to arrive. A look at the clock on the wall confirms this and he frowns in wonder of his own behavior. Since when does he come into work _before_ 0700? He shrugs. There is a first time for everything, right?  
>Just as he wants to sit down, someone storms into the squad room and breaks the peaceful early-morning silence with a chain of foreign words thrown at no one in particular…he hopes.<p>

He watches her with raised eyebrows as she hobbles around Kate's desk, wearing a high-heel on the one foot and her combat boot on the other, while she tries to tame her hair into a proper ponytail. She either doesn't notice him staring or doesn't care and so he continues to watch, his lips forming into a half-grin. Her hands disappear in her large handbag (something he hasn't expected from her) in search for what he guesses is the second high-heel. As she finds the shoe she sighs and lets herself drop down on the chair, kicking the heavy boot off and replacing it with the more feminine shoe work. As she leans over to adjust the strap around her ankle he has a pretty damn good view down her cleavage and he cranes his neck in order to make it even better.

"Like what you see?" she asks and looks up at him through her seductively dark eyelashes. Is she wearing makeup? Good Lord, she's wearing makeup. He leans slightly forward and lets his eyes scan her from head to toe before he leans back in his chair and meets her eyes again. She mirrors his position, awaiting an answer.

"Well…I'd rate it a four and a half out of five," he says. She raises an eyebrow as if questioning his sanity. "What? I had to take half a point off because you look like a scarecrow with your hair all weird and sticking into all directions," he adds with a wink.

She cocks her head to the side and narrows her eyes. "Why would you compare my hair to a scary crow? Crows do not even have hair!"

He chuckles. "Not scary crow, Ziva. I said _scarecrow_. You now the odd looking things farmers put out on their fields in order to prevent birds from stealing the seeds…?" Her frown deepens and she shakes her head ever so slightly. "Never mind…"

They both mind their own business for some time until she starts pacing the room and fidgeting with the buttons on her blouse nervously. For a second his gaze lingers on said buttons until he snaps out of it and gets up to walk around his desk. She looks at him for a moment before she continues her pacing.  
>"Does everyone always come in that late?" she suddenly asks, loosening her ponytail and running her fingers through her curls.<p>

"Excuse me?"

"It is almost half past seven and we are the only people here," she motions around the mostly empty office.

"Usually Gibbs is here by now and I'm pretty sure Abby's already down in her lab._ I_ mostly don't even come in until 8. What time does a Mossad day start?"

"0500 at the latest. That is why I was afraid to be late before. I do not usually dress in the office, Tony."

"Well, that's a shame really, Officer Dah-veed. The poor guys at Mossad will never know what they missed."

Before she can shoot back a remark Kate drops her bags with a loud '_thump_'and stares incredulously at the Israeli, making him jump in surprise and the woman in question look up. "What do you think you're doing?" Ziva looks at him for a hint but he has no idea what Kate wants. "This is my desk," Kate points at the bag on top of it, "and not your personal bag drop-off." Reluctantly Ziva sighs and moves her things and he wonders what she would do if he wasn't around as a witness. She stares daggers at his partner while Kate moves her things from the floor to her desk and sits down.

"Be good, girls," he warns teasingly but shuts up as two pairs of eyes glare at him. He pretends to do some actual work and ignores the tension in the room. As he thinks that the atmosphere can't possibly get any worse, Gibbs strolls in and tells them about a dead sailor near Quantico.

"DiNozzo, gas the truck!" barks his boss as he tosses the keys in his direction. He catches them with ease and smirks at Kate's eye-roll as she leaves for the elevator. Gibbs looks at Ziva again and frowns. "I'd choose a different pair of shoes, Officer David…"

Ziva nods and kicks her heels off without ripping the thin straps. He smiles as she sighs with pleasure once her feet are back in her combat boots. Now that's more like the tough chick from a month ago. He feels a slap to the back of his head with a harsh "_Focus_!" yelled at him and jogs towards the elevator with Ziva right behind him.

**…**

At the crime scene he questions the witness, 31-year-old Cameron Fell – wife of the victim, while Kate shows Ziva how to snap proper shots of the scene. He can see that both women are close to murdering one another and he worries that they are soon going to have another crime scene. After writing down the name of a very likely suspect and handing his card to the still sobbing wife he walks off in search for McGee. He finds the younger agent at the small creek behind the house where he bags evidence that might or might not be relevant.

"Hey Probie, who do you think would win a fight between Kate and Ziva?" he asks and turns his colleague towards their two almost fighting female co-workers. McGee purses his lips and folds his arms over his chest.

"I don't know. Ziva is Mossad, so I guess she must be pretty kick-ass."

"Hell yea she is, Probie!"

"But," McGee raises one finger, "Kate used to protect the president. That has to mean something too, right?"

He nods a couple of times, comparing this information with his own ideas. They almost get their answer as Kate raises a hand to slap the Israeli and start the inevitable bitch-fight that was to come. She is stopped by Gibbs who holds her arm and nods towards them. They're too far away to hear them but he thinks that Gibbs is on Ziva's side because Kate comes stomping towards them like a sulking kid and mumbles something under her breath. She pulls a pair of blue latex gloves from her pocket and puts them on.

"Found anything yet?"

McGee shakes his head and goes to explain something about the water plants surrounding the creek and how he tried some boy scout thing but he zones out completely and stops listening…until a scream can be heard, followed by the splashing of water, and he draws his weapon, aiming it in the direction that the noise came from. He almost drops his gun as he sees Ziva struggling to get out of the water only to slip and fall in again.  
>When she looks at him with her wet hair clinging to her forehead and an incredulous expression on her face he's in hysterics. She gets up again and makes her way towards the bank. Once out of the water she reaches up and pulls something green and slimy-looking out of her soaking hair. He puts his gun back into its holster on his hip and bents forward, resting his hands on his knees to steady himself, as he continues to shake with laughter. Next to him McGee struggles hard not to laugh but he fails and joins in.<p>

"Hey, Ziva!" he calls out, "I think I'll have to re-think that rating!"

"Just shut up, Tony," murmurs Kate with a stern look before she walks towards a soaking wet Ziva. On the way she shrugs out of her jacket and hands it to the other woman who seems to greatly appreciate the gesture. He's never going to understand how women can be worst enemies in the one second and best friends in the next.

**…**

They're already preparing to leave, following Palmer and Ducky's example, as Mrs Fell cries out for help. Immediately all five agents have their guns out and surround the house. He shakes his head as he sees their supposed suspect make a run for the back yard and he calls out to warn Gibbs and McGee who already are round the back. He hears yells of "_Freeze – NCIS!_" followed by shots ringing through the air. He sprints towards the creek, guessing that the guy wants to escape in that direction and positions himself behind a bush.

"He's coming, DiNozzo!" Kate warns him and he nods, jumping out of his hiding place just at the right time and tackling the slightly taller man to the ground.

"Going somewhere?" he whispers into the suspect's ear, making it sound like a threat. "You're under arrest for the murder of Petty Officer Howard Fell," he says while pulling the guy to his feet rather violently before cuffing him and handing him over to Gibbs. He stretches his back and rolls his shoulders before brushing the dirt off his pants. Just as he turns to walk back to the others again, he trips over a tree root and loses his balance, stumbling straight into the water like Ziva has before him. He swears under his breath and hopes that none of his co-workers saw him, but of course Ziva and Kate magically appear right then and there and laugh at him, letting him taste his own medicine. And it tastes bitter.

"Needed refreshment, huh?" Kate smirks and reaches out to help him out of the water. "You know, you could've just waited to shower back at the Navy Yard…"

"Haha, very funny, Agent Todd," he says as he loosens the tie around his neck.

"Oh no, Tony, this isn't funny. It's freaking hilarious!" Kate bursts into laughter again and so does Ziva, but as his partner leaves for the car with a wave, the Israeli stays. He ruffles a hand through his hair in a pathetic try to dry it and sniffs, causing the water he got in his nose to shoot further up. He isn't prepared for that and starts coughing violently. Ziva smiles sympathetically and slaps his back a couple of times until he stops fighting for air and breathes normally again.

"It was funnier when you were the one falling into the water," he states somewhat disappointed and frowns at her. She takes a step closer so that her chest almost brushes his and looks at him seductively.

"Usually men do not _laugh_ when I get all…wet," she whispers the last part into his ear and he swallows hard, but then she leans back and pats his chest and smiles such a sweet Mona Lisa smile that he has to think twice if she had intended for that to sound so dirty or if his mind was playing a trick on him. He stares after her, wondering, when she turns and winks at him as if to confirm his suspicions. He smiles.

Two can play that game.

* * *

><p><strong>I know that Kate was bitching around a lot in this chapter, but she has her reasons...and you'll find out soon enough. :)<strong>

**Um...what did I want again..mhhh...something starting with 'R'...Rice? No...Rhinoceros..? No that wasn't it either...**

**Oh, _right_...a REVIEW please? ;D**


	9. Observation Room

**...let me tell you one thing: Writers block is a bitch.**

**That out of the way: We're almost halfway through the story and I still didn't get to the exciting part...what kind of writer am I?**

**Anyway. Enjoooy the update (:**

**Disclaimer: _In a pathetic attempt to get Tiva together I played The Sims 3 and forced a Tony-Sim and a Ziva-Sim to get married...but I decided to delete them again, so I don't even own them in the cyber world. Darn it._**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 - Observation Room<strong>

He thinks he might be standing a bit too close when they are watching Gibbs interrogate their suspect, but he can't bring himself to step away. He has to get back at her for that dirty comment earlier somehow and noticing how her breath hitches in her throat whenever their arms 'accidentally' brush gives him at least some sort of satisfaction. He watches her from the corner of his eye while she watches his boss and he finds himself smiling.

"This is frustrating," she says with a sigh and he blinks a couple of times before he realizes that her statement is case-related. He just nods, waiting for her to say more. "At Mossad we would have other methods to get him to talk; more efficient ones."

"Well, this isn't Mossad, Officer David. And we got a witness and a murder weapon with his prints on it. He doesn't need to say anything." He sends her his signature smile to conceal how nervous the thoughts of Mossad interrogation techniques actually make him. Apparently he does a very bad job because she smirks and turns her eyes back to Gibbs. Silence settles between them and he keeps glancing at her, sometimes catching her glancing back at him. After a couple of minutes he can't stand it anymore. "So, uh, what 'more efficient' methods do you have at…Mossad?"

She chuckles. "Curiosity killed the cat, yes?

"Hey, you got that one right," he says with a grin, still remembering their 'scarecrow' conversation from earlier that morning. She rolls her eyes.

"I speak nine languages, Tony. I am sorry if I sometimes get confused."

He doesn't know what to say after that. Nine languages is a lot. He himself only speaks Italian and very little Spanish in addition to English. He frowns while thinking what languages the Israeli next to him could possibly speak. There is Hebrew, of course, and English and very likely another two eastern European languages. He bites his tongue to prevent himself from starting a random conversation, realizing that she got him off-topic.

"Why won't you tell me?"

She's very quiet all of a sudden and he thinks he might have just hit a nerve, so he doesn't push any further. Instead his eyes turn back on Gibbs who seems to have finally got an admission out of their suspect. He smirks at how that mountain of a man shrinks back in his chair when his boss leans across the table to whisper something he doesn't hear. Just when he's sure that she's not going to talk she sighs and rubs her eyes tiredly.

"I am not…particularly proud of some of my actions," she says quietly while running a hand through her still slightly damp hair. Her voice is full of regret and he wishes he never brought the subject up. It takes most of his willpower not to reach out and pull her into a hug.

"So, I take it that you don't like being a crazy assassin chick?" he tries to make it sound like a joke, but his voice is too serious. She swallows hard and avoids his eyes.

"It does have its advantages…sometimes." She smiles weakly when Gibbs actually manages to make the suspect cry, but stays in her dark mood otherwise.

"You don't have to be the tough Mossad princess if you don't want to, y'know," he says, stepping even closer to stand directly behind her. All he has to do is wrap his arms around her waist and he is sure that he would manage to cheer her up.

"It is not that easy." She says it defensively, but leans slightly into him. His heart speeds up as her messy curls tickle his face and he smells her shampoo (when did she have the time to shower?). He finds himself inhaling deeply, not able to stop himself. Before he can actually process what's happening he's pressed up against the glass and she glares at him. "Do not do that," she growls.

He leans closer so their faces are merely inches apart. "Why not?"

"Because, Tony, there are rules," she whispers, but her eyes dart to his lips for a second and he knows that the rules cannot possibly mean that much to her, only being a liaison and all. She's distracted enough for him to turn them around so that she is the one pressed up against the observation window. He reaches out and twists one strand of her hair around his finger, caressing her cheek in the process. She smiles.

"See, now you're smiling again," he says proudly and stares into her eyes, searching for permission to kiss her. When her arms come up around his neck he takes it as a positive reaction and leans in closer, but Ziva suddenly pushes him away and straightens her clothes. When he stares at her with a perfect WTF-expression, she smiles apologetically.

"Someone is coming," she explains and faces the window again. Just then Kate enters the room, smiling brightly. When she sees his look her smile fades and she looks knowingly from him to Ziva.

"Did I interrupt?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Ye-"he starts, but is silenced when Ziva's elbow rams into his stomach and he has to bent over. Kate apologizes with a smirk before she starts laughing. He glares at her then at Ziva, whose expression is neutral but the slight twinkle in her eyes shows that she, too, tries not to laugh. He clears his throat and puts on his best kicked-puppy-look. Kate merely rolls her eyes and watches Gibbs, but Ziva bites her lip and reaches out to touch him, mouthing 'sorry'. He just turns away in fake-hurt and pretends to be really interested in what their suspect has to say. Their still crying suspect, one might add.

Suddenly he feels her hand in his and looks down at her. She actually looks really sorry and he almost feels bad for putting on such a show. She squeezes his hand once before letting go of him just in time before Kate can catch them.

"You really are one hell of a ninja, Ziva David," he murmurs under his breath and chuckles when he sees the Israeli's lips turn up into a half-smile.

**…**

"So, Katie," he starts, taking a bite off his burrito, "Tell me why you're all smile-y since we came back from the crime scene. It doesn't by any chance have something to do with a certain Special Agent Willis from your new team, does it?"  
>Kate's mouth falls slightly open and he chews smugly as she struggles to keep her expression indifferent. He knows her too well, though and just waggles his eyebrows. "Come on. Henry likes you, you like Henry and Agent Quentin doesn't have any rules."<p>

Kate stares at him incredulously and lets out a breath. "Tony, I have already told you about a _million_ times that I'm not the least bit interested in Agent Willis," she says, but the way she avoids his eyes suddenly tells him that he's right.

"You are blushing," he sing-songs and takes another bite.

"Am not," Kate snaps and impatiently taps her fingers on her desk.

"You're totally blushing," states McGee with a smirk as he strolls into the bullpen, carrying a brown paper bag that most likely contains something sugary. The Probie stops at his desk and stares at Ziva who currently sits in his chair. She smiles and gets up, walking the few steps to his desk and sitting behind him.

"Need a wingman, Kate?" he asks, suppressing a grin. He ducks just before Kate's pen can hit him.

"Agent Quentin doesn't have Gibbs' rules. I don't think that means he approves of his agents dating," she says somewhat bitterly.

"So that means that you _do_ like him." He can't stop grinning now.

Kate gets up. "I am done talking, DiNozzo," she says and leaves for the elevator.

"Say hi to Henry!" he calls after her and laughs when he hears her swear under her breath.

Out of nowhere a tanned hand appears and snatches his food from him. He turns to see Ziva taking a huge bite and moaning softly with her eyes closed. His mouth goes completely dry at the sound and his eyes are focused on her lips as her tongue darts out to lick some of the extra hot sauce from them. And now the sauce isn't the only thing hot. He doesn't notice McGee's look as Ziva hands his burrito back to him and he has to remind himself that kissing Israeli assassins in the middle of the bullpen with his co-worker watching isn't the best idea.

"Thank you, Tony. I have not eaten since breakfast," says Ziva with a wink and he wants to think of a good response but his brain isn't working.

"It must suck to talk Kate into dating Agent Willis while you're stuck with Rule 12…" says McGee innocently from his desk, finishing his donut and taking a sip from his coffee. That makes him focus again and he glares at the younger agent.

"Way to ruin the moment, McLowBlow," he mutters right before Ziva steals his burrito again and gets up, patting his shoulder. "Nah, it's okay. Steal my food and be happy," he says sarcastically while she walks over to Kate's desk – which is _her_ desk, theoretically – and sits down, taking another bite.

"Thank you," she says with the sweetest of smiles. He huffs and folds his arms over his chest.

"We'll have to work on the 'understanding sarcasm' thing."

"I think she understood, Tony-"

"Ya think McGee?" he snaps, shutting the Probie up and turning back to Ziva who just throws the wrapping of _his_ burrito into the trashcan. How could she eat that fast?  
>"You owe me lunch," he states.<p>

She shrugs. "I can think of several ways to make up for stealing your burrito."  
>Judging by the suggestive look she gives him none of those ways include her buying him food, but he could live with that. Actually, he'd love to live with that.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I'll go to Prague for the weekend and thr train ride's like 8 hours long, and since I hate sleeping on trains I'll probably spend most of the time writing...this means that you'll get your next update way quicker.<strong>

**Hope you're still reading :) **  
><strong>Review because the NCIS season fnale left us with the meanest cliff-hanger ever?<strong>


	10. Squad Room

_***shy wave* **_  
><strong>Hi guys...still remember me? I'm that horrible person that told you she would have heaps of time to write and update frequently and then ended up abandoning you for far too long.<strong>

**I'm sorry, really I am, but I really didn'T have time to even think of fanfiction in the last month. School's been pretty demanding and I had heaps of stuff to do. I mean I know that excuse has a beard longer than the distance from Austria to Washington D.C. but it's true.**

**And I can't even promise to update more frequently during summer holidays because I'll be in pretty internetless parts of Finnland. I can only hope that I will write during the car rides and update whenever I get to a computer with internet access.**

**I will try to update once or twice before I leave, though. That should be possible.**

**Disclaimer: _I just checked my emails...still no ownership of NCIS._** :(

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><p><strong>Chapter 10 - Squad Room<strong>

After a month of working with Ziva, he still doesn't seem to be able to manage his feelings. What is it with that woman that makes him feel so strongly about her after such a little amount of time? Of course it wouldn't be that much of a problem if the woman in question would return those feelings and in the beginning it had certainly looked like the attraction was mutual, but Ziva started to treat him almost like McGee. Well, with a few flirty remarks thrown in, of course.

However, as much as he hates to admit it to himself, the way it is now is probably better for their working relationship. Their professional distance makes it easier for him to pretend that his attraction to her is merely physical and has nothing to do with any romantic feelings. They've built up a friendship with the potential of having certain benefits. He's still waiting for the 'benefits' part though. Technically this wouldn't even count as 'dating', so Gibbs couldn't give him shit about rule 12.

Before he can think more about his could-be-more-than-friends relationship with his Israeli coworker, McGee comes walking out of the elevator and trips, awkwardly steadying himself on Miranda from human resources. A good-looking blonde, that the Probie used to have a little crush on, as he suspects. The woman just smiles at his friend and he thinks for a second that maybe, just maybe, young, shy McGee could have a chance of her agreeing to a date. He sighs. Even McAwkward's love life looks better than his own at the moment.

"Did you see that, Tony?" McGee whispers frantically. "She was totally checking me out!"

"You? Puh-lease. Did you hit your head lately?" he says with a grin, pretending to not have watched the whole thing. It was always more fun this way.

"No, I swear! Do you think I should ask her out?" McGee starts pacing in front of his desk.

"Sure." The younger agent's eyes light up and he stops. "And then we all go ride our unicorns to the end of the rainbow, because that's about as realistic." McGee'S face falls again and he sighs, making his way over to his chair and dropping into it.

"You're probably right," he says.

"Right with what?" an unmistakable voice asks from Kate's desk and he curses in his mind at the immediate reaction of his heart.

McGee looks up. "Oh, hey Ziva. Tony just talked me out of asking Miranda Jefferson on a date." Again the Probie sighs.

Within a second he feels a fist connect with his shoulder. "Ouch! Jeez, Ziva!" he complains and rubs the sore spot. He is never going to get used to the assassin's violent nature…even though her profession kind of gives it away.

"That was not nice, Tony," she says in a lecturing tone. "If you wanted to ask someone outside-"

"-It's just 'out'," McGee corrects, but shuts his mouth when her steely glare makes him feel uncomfortable.

"If you wanted to ask someone out," she repeats the correct phrase, "You would not want to be talked out of it, would you?"

"I never get talked out of it, " he says with a flirtatious wink, "I can ask out whoever I want." This was supposed to make her jealous, but Ziva just shrugs her shoulders indifferently. He's stunned by the pang of disappointment he feels at her reaction. This was not his usual Tony DiNozzo behavior.

"But this is about McGee," she says determinedly and turns to the Probie. "I will see what I can do." With a sweet smile – very unlike her – she turns and leaves for the stairs, leaving him and his coworker staring after her with questioning eyes.

**…**

"Hey, McGee!" he says before throwing a paper ball across the squad room, hitting the younger agent square in the face.

"What?" his target yells in annoyance.

"I'm bored."

"Yeah, I noticed that about seven paper balls ago," comes the sarcastic response. "Why don't you just…do some Senior Field Agent stuff. You always brag about having 'duties'."

"Good idea, but as the name says, I am a Senior _Field_ Agent. As far as I'm concerned we are currently not out in the field. But if a mountain lion comes and attacks you, oh Probie of all Probies, I will do my best to protect you."

"So, when you say 'mountain lion' you mean Gibbs, right?" The younger man laughs at his own joke, but when he doesn't get a response he falls silent. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" He scrambles to his feet, not daring to turn around, and starts babbling. "I'm sorry, boss. It was just me and Tony joking around. Of course I don't think you're a mountain lion. Except when I say you're…you're brave as a mountain lion…-" McGee stops as he sees the camera. "What the hell?"

"Aaaaand cut!" he yells before he bursts out laughing. "McGee, this was priceless! 'Brave as a mountain lion'? God, this is too funny!"

McGee turned around in confusion just to find the rest of the bullpen empty. He sighs and turns back to his coworker. "Well played, DiNozzo."

"You still got a lot to learn." There was a short silence before he continued. "Hey, what about grabbing some lunch? It's on you."

"Haha, very funny."

Three women enter the bullpen then and interrupt the conversation. He smiles at his not-really-but-still-in-a-way partner Kate and then at Ziva, who's still wearing the same sweet smile as when she left. The woman definitely has a plan, he knows that, and he will definitely work on finding out what it was. It turns out that he won't have to think much about it as he recognizes the third person. Miranda Jefferson. He smiles at her as well.

"Is it my birthday yet?" he asks cheerfully, earning eye-rolls from both, Ziva and Kate, and a disgusted look from Miranda.

"Ignore him," whispers Kate. "He's worse than any thirteen-year-old."

He shrugs but smiles as he sees Ziva's lips involuntarily turn up into a half-smile that almost looks affectionate. Maybe she's just a far better actress than he thinks and there's still a chance of them forming something more than friendship…and even more than the same thing with benefits.

"It's okay Kate, you don't need to pretend to hate me," he teases. "Now what brought you ladies here?"

Ziva steps forward and clears her throat. "Well, after our little talk earlier, I went to search for Miranda here," she turned to the blonde, "and told her about McG- about Timothy."

"And here I am," says Miranda and smiles at McGee. "Would you by any chance want to grab lunch some time?"

All eyes turn to the agent in question and he just swallows once to keep his composure. "Sure. Actually I just wanted to go now…do you have time?"

"I don't think this is a problem. I'll meet you at the entrance in ten." The woman smiles brightly and turns, heading towards the elevator.

McGee jumps up and blinks a couple of times, trying to comprehend what just happened. Finally he turns to the Israeli. "Ziva…why?"

"Because that is what friends do, is it not?"

"Uh, sure. If you ever need anything..let me know."

"I will. Now go," she nudges him on to continue in the direction that his date left.

**…**

"No, we had Chinese last week. Please let's just settle on something…less sweet-sour-y," he complains as Kate walks straight towards their usual lunch place. Kate turns to stare at him.

"You don't have to eat your usual meal if you don't want sweet-sour."

"I would rather eat something else, too," says Ziva from behind them.

"Italian?" he offers.

"Maybe, I-"

"Italian it is, then. C'mon Kate," he turns and leads the way to the nearest Italian restaurant that ironically has the name 'Tony's'. His friend doesn't move, though and so he faces her again, raising an eyebrow.

Kate sighs and nods her head towards the Chinese place. "Henry's in there."

He nods knowingly and winks at his friend. "Then go."

"Really? I feel bad, I mean this is the only time of the day that we can talk…"

"Go, Kate. It's okay," he says with a laugh. She smiles gratefully at him and enters the restaurant with a big smile. She very much reminds him of a love struck teenager. He turns back to Ziva. "So, this leaves only the two of us. Are you excited yet?"

"Shut it or you will be eating alone."

"Point taken," he says with a grin and they continue the walk to the restaurant in silence. He thinks about different things, like why Gibbs hasn't shown up all day or why Miranda would go out with McGee or why Abby hadn't joined them for lunch, but his thoughts always trail back to Ziva and he finally decides that he needs to talk to her about Israel, especially the airport, and her first week on the team, especially the almost-kiss in the observation room.

"I am sorry," she says before he can start his quickly thought out speech.

"For what?" he asks in surprise, completely thrown off topic by the seriousness her tone held.

"For distancing myself from you. I know you have certain feelings…for me."

He waves it off and puts on his best poker face. "Don't be silly. It was just a kiss and that was two months ago."

"Really? Because I certainly feel…something," she admits quietly. "But it is better this way. There are some things going on at Mossad that are…strange and I do not want you to get pulled into anything.

That makes him stop and he narrows his eyes at her. "Are you in danger?"

"I do not think so, but I do not know it for sure," she says.

"You would tell me if anything dangerous was going on, right?"

She hesitates for a moment before she nods. "Yes. Even though I am not allowed to talk about it, I am sure I would at least leave you some kind of message."

"Thanks."

"It is what friends do."

It's the second time that day that she's used that phrase and he starts to wonder what caused the sudden friendshippyness. It didn't exactly fit her character to make her affection for someone no secret but show it.

"So we are friends, right?"

His question throws her off guard and she stares at him. "Yes, Tony. We are friends."

"But we're friends in a different way than you and McGee are friends, right?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Ziva, that we're probably a little more than friends."

"You might be right."

He's stunned into silence by that simple statement that confirms his suspicions of her feeling at least something. "Then why are we pretending?"

"Because it is safer for both our hearts. We have both been hurt terribly in the past by people we thought we could trust."

"No, that's your reason. I wouldn't mind being…more." He argues, earning a laugh from her that's not really amused. She looks past him and sighs quietly. He reaches out to touch her but suddenly she stiffens and her eyes widen. She slaps his hand away.

"I need to go!" she says almost…scared and runs back towards the car. He's completely confused as he stares after her until she disappears around a corner, but his gut starts churning.

And even though his gut is far less reliable than Gibbs', he knows one thing: Something's really very wrong with Ziva.

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><p><strong>Again, I am so, so sorry.<strong>

**Review? Please? (:**

**_PS: I know I cheated with the title...sue me :P_  
><strong>


	11. Ziva's Apartment, Pt I

**Uh, hey :)**  
><strong>Again, I'm terribly sorry for not updating as promised, but the last week of school turned out to be more eventful than I'd originally thought it would be. Good for me, kinda really bad for you.<strong>

**To make matters worse I had even less internet access in Finland than expected...so updating was unthinkable. Writing, too, was a matter of patience, as I didn't have my beloved keyboard, but had to write the whole thing on my mum's iPad. Meaning I had limited access to my most important instrument..and autocorrect was driving me insane. I actually felt like throwing the stupid thing straight out the window. **

**That explained, here's the next chapter and this time I can really promise you that the next ones are to follow up soon (yes, I already started writing, even though I barely arrived back home a couple of hours ago)**  
><strong>For the next 6 weeks I will spend my past-time writing. Wohoo! :D<strong>

**Disclaimer: "_I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee." _**  
><strong>(<strong>See, I don't even own my disclaimer (which is hereby disclaimed), so what makes you think I own NCIS?**)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11 - Ziva's Apartment<strong>

** Pt. I  
><strong>

He's been sitting in his car for over an hour, or that's what it feels like to him, when he finally decides to get out and do something productive, like asking Ziva about her behavior earlier that day when they were supposed to have lunch. Why did he always manage to completely screw things up with the girls he actually really liked - in this case a lot - when things were just so easy with one-night-stands. Well, because, 'No strings attached, no heart at risk', that's why. But he has to admit to himself that he will fight for his Israeli warrior princess, no matter at what cost, because he's never before met a more intimidating, frustrating, gorgeous, ninja-like person before, ever. And he is not going to lose her, no sir.

With a sigh he pushes the car door open and gets out, before slowly walking towards the building, taking more time than necessary to make sure the car is locked. He has memorized the street, the address and about seven different ways to get to the apartment as soon as Ziva's told him where she lived, but suddenly he doubts if he's in the right place and thinks that maybe it would be better if he called her and sort of gave her a hint that he was coming over. Of course all that is just an excuse to waste time and he knows it.

"Man up, DiNozzo," he murmurs to himself before finally entering the apartment building with the key she's given him for emergencies - he believes that this might just be one, judging by her sudden change of behavior earlier - and heading up to the third floor, taking the stairs but always two steps at a time. He's not surprised when he's at her door and doesn't find her name on the little sign. Taking a deep breath, he gathers all his courage together, again wondering why the hell he is so damn nervous, and knocks softly. No reaction. He knocks again, waits for a moment and then almost turns to leave when he hears the quiet tapping of feet inside. Just as he wants to again use his key, the door is suddenly yanked open and he has a gun pointed right at his face.

"Whoa there, Ziva!" he yells in surprise, holding his hands up as if in surrender, "I don't know the customs in your country, but here, when someone comes to visit, you just say 'Hi', you know?"  
>She lowers her weapon and secures it.<p>

"I thought you were someone else," she hisses, before grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him inside her apartment, throwing the door shut behind her and locking it twice.

"And who exactly have you been expecting?" he asks, standing in the center of the small living room, looking around. Somehow it's just as he's imagined it; Plain white walls, no pictures, a lonely plant in the corner by the window. No TV, which shocks him, but isn't a surprise as he sees the far side of the room is crowded with bookshelves, containing literature in at least six languages.  
>When he turns back to her she's sitting on the ground by her door, her knees pulled up and her face hidden by her arms. The gun is still in her hand. He immediately rushes to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder.<br>"Hey, what's wrong, Ninja?" He nudges her softly, trying to get her to look at him. "You're not scared, are you?"  
>She sniffs once, which alarms him even more than anything else. The Ziva he's come to know doesn't cry, not when shot, not when held captive, not in public and not alone, basically not <em>ever<em>, so something has to be more than wrong.  
>"Ziva..." he says softly, but she just raises her head, turning her face away from him, and wipes her eyes with her sleeve once before getting up and pacing the room. He gets up as well, but remains at the door, watching her every movement.<p>

"What are you doing here, Tony?" she finally asks after seemingly an eternity of silence.

He shrugs, "Visiting a friend."

She stops and sighs, closing her eyes briefly, and turns to him. Her eyes are cold and she looks like she hasn't slept in at least a week. How come he hasn't noticed how exhausted she looked at work?  
>"Why are you here?" she rephrases her question, crossing her arms over her chest.<p>

"You know, that's actually a funny story," he laughs once, but it sounds too nervous to come even close to convincing, "I was just driving nearby and then I thought-"

"Tony!" she interrupts him and the glare she sends him leaves no room for any argument, so he sighs and steps closer to her.

"I came to check up on you," - she snorts disapprovingly at that, but he continues - "because I'm really worried about what you said today."

"I knew it," she says, frustratedly throwing her arms up, before dropping down onto the couch, "I knew I should not have said anything."

He hesitantly crouches down next to her. "No, Ziva, I'm your partner, I need to know what's going on. Just...tell me what _is_ going on _exactly_that has you opening the door with a gun in your hand."

For a second her eyes soften while she listens, but then her expression becomes again unreadable to him and she turns away. "Kate is your partner," she states somewhat bitterly.  
>He lifts a hand to reach out for her, but changes his mind, figuring that touching her now might be counterproductive. Instead he gets up, giving her some more space.<br>"That's right to a certain degree," he starts cautiously, gauging her reaction. She merely blinks, so he continues, "But right now Kate's in another team and you definitely look like you need my help."

"I do not need help!" she suddenly yells, jumping up, "Not from you, not from anyone!"  
>He's dumbstruck by her strong reaction and just watches her again for a couple of minutes. There seems to be an inner fight going on in her and he thinks that the secretive Ziva-David-doesn't-need-friends part might just be winning when she faces him again, but then she finally drops her shoulders in defeat and puts the gun in its holster on her him<br>"I am sorry, Tony. You are only trying to help and I really appreciate that, but I cannot tell you anything. It is classified information to know and might endanger my family and other people I...care about," her eyes are burning into his now and he can't possibly look away.

"But you said you would tell me if anything happened," he says softly.

"Things have changed," she sighs tiredly and finally does look away, adding, "You better leave now," with a slightly shaky voice while turning away again.

"No," his voice is more confident than he thought it would be and that pleases him. She stops in her movement and turns around.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, but I won't leave here until you give me one good reason to."  
>He stubbornly drops onto the couch and kicks off his shoes.<p>

"I told you to leave, that is the best reason," she says, narrowing her eyes.

"Nu-uh, not good enough," he says with a grin. His eyes widen when he sees her hand twitch towards her gun for a second, but she just rolls her eyes.

"Fine," she says, "You can stay..." He beams at her, but before he can say something she raises her hand to shut him up. "...Under one condition."

"I'm all ears…" he says hesitantly, not able to hide the skeptical edge in his voice.

She smiles. "You have to help me cook."  
>Now that's not a problem for him at all - as long as he also gets to eat, that is. But for now he's perfectly content with following her into the kitchen and taking her orders.<p>

**...**

"This was delicious, Ziva," he says for probably the tenth time while he carries their empty plates back to put them into the dishwasher. He's never eaten typical Israeli food before and he has to admit that it almost tops his all-time favorite, Italian. Almost.

When he returns to the living room she's sitting on the couch, her feet covered by a fluffy red blanket, and when she sees him she shifts in order to give him some space next to her. He smiles involuntarily at the gesture and sits down. They don't talk for a couple of minutes before he decides to push his luck and reaches out to pull her closer. He's pleasantly surprised when she doesn't object, but instead snuggles close to him, burying her face in his shoulder to stifle a yawn.

"You can sleep, Zi. You're safe with me," he whispers while brushing his fingers through her soft curls.

"Thank you," she whispers back, "For being concerned, for staying here, for-"

He interrupts her by putting a finger to her lips. "Shh, it's okay. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right..." she says absentmindedly. Her words are again followed by silence.  
>After a while he feels her eyes on him and turns his head to look at her. She's biting her lip in that way that he knows means she is thinking about whether she should do something or not, but just as he wants to ask her what's on her mind, she slowly moves closer and answers his question by softly pressing her lips to his.<p>

At first he's so surprised and overwhelmed with feelings that he doesn't even react to her kiss, causing her to pull back and whisper a soft 'sorry', but in the next second he's pulling her close again and kisses her eagerly. His stomach is doing joyous back flips when she kisses him back with equal enthusiasm, teasingly biting his lower lip while pushing him down on the couch into a lying position with herself on top of him.  
>He's breathing hard when they break apart for air and smiles up at her. Her cheeks are flushed and she looks even more beautiful to him than usual. Just as he wants to compliment her, though, she starts placing butterfly kisses along his jaw line, before again capturing his lips with her own.<br>He figures the talking can wait when she moves her hips against him in just the right way and her hands wander downwards.

**...**

The rhythmical tapping of raindrops against the window wakes him in the early morning. His arm is draped around a tanned body and he grins inwardly at Ziva's soft snoring. In every other girl he would find it extremely annoying, possibly even a reason for breakup, but with her it's just adorable. Although, _adorable_ is probably not the best adjective to describe a Mossad assassin.  
>He traces patterns along her bare shoulder for a while, just enjoying the moment, until sleep almost overcomes him again. But he knows that he has to get up and go home. Just because <em>they<em>are ignoring Rule 12, doesn't mean Gibbs is too, so he needs to shower and change before he can get to work without raising any suspicions.

With a sigh he gets up, picking his boxer shorts up from next to the bed and putting them on. He doesn't really remember how exactly they have made their way from the couch to the bed last night, but judging by the trail of clothing they left they were too busy getting undressed to pay any attention.  
>He gathers all his things together and, after a trip to the bathroom to look more presentable to Ziva's neighbors, should he meet one, picks up his phone on the coffee table. It's 3:20 am, so he might even catch some more sleep at his apartment before getting ready for work. He silently makes his way into the bed room, expecting her to be still asleep, but when he enters he finds two sleepy dark eyes looking back at him.<p>

"I gotta go, Zi," he whispers while sitting down on her side of the bed, brushing a single curl out of her face. "See you at work?"

"Thank you," she whispers, sitting up, "for not letting me be alone tonight. I needed that."  
>He's slightly taken aback by that. Is she just thinking of all this as comfort-sex? Because <em>he<em> certainly isn't. He opens his mouth to ask her about it, but she seems to understand without words, because she leans in and softly kisses him.  
>"It was not meant like that," she says breathily against his lips.<p>

"Good," he murmurs before kissing her again. Before they can lose themselves in kisses, he pulls back, smiling apologetically, "I really need to go now."  
>She nods and just presses her lips against his for one last peck.<br>"It's going be hard not to do that at work, you know?" he chuckles.

"We might just have to behave," she says, but her tone holds something cheeky and he thinks that maybe they are going to get in trouble sooner or later.  
>With a sigh he squeezes her hand once and gets up. She waves goodbye, before snuggling back under the covers.<p>

**…**

Still in a state of utter bliss and joyfulness when he gets into his car, he doesn't hear the faint shattering of glass, followed by a muffled scream coming from her apartment.

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><p><strong>Yeah, I know, I know...I really seem to enjoy torturing you with my cliffies. <strong>

**Don't be mad at me, Please. **  
><strong>And hey...I wouldn't want to cause you guys any inconvenience, but, uh, could you..y'know...leave a Review on the way out? That would be AWESOME :)<strong>

**_See ya soon_ (:**


	12. Ziva's Apartment, Pt II

**Okay, not much to say about this, except that I would've updated yesterday if my computer hadn't made things difficult. It's a tad (more like _way_) shorter than the other chapters...hope you don't mind too much.  
><strong>

**So, I'm planning on wrapping this story up until school starts again in about 5 weeks. I have no choice but to update more often. Good for you, pressure for me :)  
><strong>

**Enjoy the chapter even though it's not particularly filled with fluff and happiness.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: _I don't own NCIS. What I DO own is a calender where September 25 is marked in bright red. Yay Season 10!_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12 - Ziva's Apartment<strong>

** Pt. II**

With a slight bounce to his step he arrives at work fifteen minutes early, dropping a brown bag containing a bagel and a cup of coffee on his co-workers desk with a cheerful „Good morning, Probie!"

McGee doesn't even look up from his computer, but merely raises an eyebrow and states tiredly, "Looks like someone got laid last night."

He grins shamelessly at the younger man and smugly takes a sip of his own coffee.  
>"Got a problem with that, McVirgin?"<p>

Instead of an answer he gets a dry chuckle followed by continuous typing. Neither talks for a while, but he can't help but get bored during this silence and so he starts to work on several paper balls to attack the Probie. Just as he wants to throw the first one, though McGee turns to face him with a grim expression.

"Don't. Even. Think about it."

He's taken back by his usually good-natured friend's behavior. "What's it with you? Did your goldfish die?"

McGee rubs his eyes and sighs. "I got called back into work at around 4 a.m. this morning, because of some weird error in our security system. I've been looking for anything ever since, but haven't found anything."

He frowns before deciding to throw his paper-ball anyway. It makes a soft '_thump'_ as it hits his co-workers shoulder.  
>"Very helpful, Tony."<p>

"Well, _I _slept like a baby," he says teasingly before taking another sip of coffee.

"Does Ziva know?"

He almost chokes at that question and starts coughing. When he finally gets a hold on himself again he stares at McGee. "Does Ziva know what?"

McGee shrugs. "That you're dating someone else."

"And why exactly would that be of Ziva's interest?" he occupies himself with rearranging the stationary on his desk, avoiding eye contact-

"I thought you two had something going on…."

He laughs nervously. "Yeah. Sure. Me and Ziva."

"I remember a couple of conversations when you were pretty sure that she was '_The One'_, or am I wrong?" McGee says innocently while taking the bagel out of its bag.

"Oh, you've been watching _How I Met Your Mother_ again, haven't you? I am not like Ted. I'm not after _The One_ or whatever. I prefer to look at myself at Barney."

"Sure," McGee says, doubt evident in his voice.

"You only like that show because their pub is called "_McGee's"_ in real life," he says teasingly, earning an eye-roll from his co-worker.  
>"And for the record; Ziva and I are just friends," even while he says he keeps thinking of last night and a farm feeling settles in his stomach and in reflex his eyes dart to her desk, which is still unoccupied by his Israeli. He narrows his eyes.<p>

"Talking about Ziva," McGee says, following his stare, "Where is she?"

**…**

He's called her twenty-two times by the time his boss pulls up in front of her apartment building, not one call has been. He opens the door and gets out of the car before it even stops moving, immediately falling into a run, his boss on his six.  
>Just like last night he takes the stairs, only this time it's because the elevator isn't arriving fast enough. Breathing hard he stops at her door, fiddling with her spare key and silently praying that – against all odds – she's just overslept or turned her phone off and got stuck in traffic.<p>

As soon as he opens the door, his hopes are shattered. The place is a mess; her bookshelf has fallen over, the plant got smashed and now dirt is covering most of the light carpet, the kitchen looks like it's been hit by a bomb with broken glass everywhere.  
>All of this is just in the background for him though. In a second he's drawn his weapon, silently walking around the messed up place and making sure all is clear. At her bedroom door he suddenly hesitates, afraid what he might find if he opens it.<p>

"All clear, DiNozzo?"  
>His boss' voice startles him. He nods towards the door, raising a finger to his lips. Gibbs nods before signing to enter the room.<br>"NCIS!" they yell simultaneously. The room is empty.

He double-checks her closet, just to be sure, before sighing and putting his gun back in its holster. Meanwhile Gibbs is already calling for backup.  
>"Missing NCIS Liaison Officer!" he barks angrily at whoever is on the other end of the line before hanging up.<p>

He's turning over all her pillows and blankets, a small part of him still hoping to find her curled up and safe. Of course his rational side is doing a great job at throwing those hopes out the window.  
>He stops what he's doing to think for a second.<p>

_The window_…

He walks around the bed and pulls her curtains away. The window is shattered. At least now he knows how that bastard got in.  
>"Boss, I got something.." he calls out over his shoulder.<p>

"Me too."  
>He turns around to meet Gibbs' death glare. In his hand his boss holds <em>his<em> tie. And of course Gibbs knows it's not just anyone's tie, not only because he's _Gibbs_ but also because it is the one tie he's bragged about for the better part of a month.  
>"Care to explain?"<p>

He swallows once. "Uh…"

"I swear DiNozzo, if I didn't need your brain working properly at the moment I would slap you so hard-"  
>He thanks God –and after this moment he's sure that He exists – when Agent Quentin enters the room before his boss can finish this sentence, followed by his SFA and Kate.<p>

All agents begin the familiar procedure of bagging and tagging all sorts of stuff. Kate keeps sending him questioning glances, but he ignores her as best as he can until she corners him in the kitchen while he's taking crime scene photos.

"What the hell happened?"

"Well, we believe that someone _might_ have kidnapped Ziva," he snaps at her, the sarcasm almost burning his tongue.

"Yeah, that's kinda why I'm here, Tony. I mean what happened with you and Gibbs. He's been looking at you like he wants to rip your head off!"

He chuckles once without humor. "Yeah? Which head? Because I'm not exactly sure if he means the one on my shoulders."

Kate narrows her eyes at him. "Who did you sleep with to make Gibbs-" she cuts herself off, a look of sudden realization on her face. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"Tony, I'm so sorry."

He sends her the best fake grin he can manage. "Don't be. The sex was amazing."

She stares at him in utter disbelief, crossing her arms over her chest. "How can you joke about that at a time like this, Tony? You're disgusting."

His grin disappears and he rubs his eyes tiredly. "I _have_ to joke about it. Because if I don't then I just might lose it completely, Kate. I might lose _her_ completely," he explains in a whisper. He doesn't look at her, but suddenly his former partner's arms are around him in a comforting hug.

When she pulls back her expression is determined. "We'll find her."

He cracks a smile for his friend. "'Course we will."

With that he leaves the room, not doubting that they will eventually find his Israeli Queen of Knife-Throwing.  
>The question is; are they going to find her alive?<p>

* * *

><p><strong>To be updated soon :)<strong>


	13. MTAC

**Time flies when you do absolutely nothing. I'm probably the laziest person that's ever lived.**

**I'm dealing with the worst case of writer's block I've had iúntil now. I have thousands of ideas for everything but this story, it's killing me!**

**But I really need to finish this before school starts, because otherwise I think I'll abandon it completely, which is something I don't want to do.**

**Okay, we're in the first of the final 5 chapters. Enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer: **  
><strong>Tony: "She married her high shool sweetheart Anthony. Nice name."<strong>  
>08x16 'Kill Screen'<p>

_**I don't own that quote... neither do I own NCIS.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13 - MTAC<strong>

He drives back to the Navy Yard with Kate, thankful for her being silent throughout the ride, although that's partly because of Henry. He eyes her grimly while she blushes every time the other agent looks at her, glad that she found someone who genuinely seems to care for her but jealous because he just wishes that it could be that easy for him and Ziva. He really needs to find her or else there wasn't much hope for him to stay sane.

"Tony?"

He turns to look at his friend, snapping out of his dark thoughts, to realize that the car has stopped moving and everyone's just waiting for him to get out. With a sigh he follows Kate and her… boyfriend? He decides that it was probably a bit too soon to refer to Henry as that.  
>In the elevator the air seems to be a lot denser than it should be and he feels like he's suffocating. Suddenly, and even he didn't see it coming, his fist rushes sideways and he punches the elevator's wall with a force that would send the Hulk flying backwards. At least that's what it feels like.<p>

"What the hell, DiNozzo!" Henry yells just before his fist can connect with the metal again. "Chill out, man!"

He shrugs the other agent's hand off his shoulder and faces him, literally seeing red. "_Chill_ _out_?" he repeats, balling his hands into fists and standing perfectly still for a moment. If that bastard says another word, he's sure he's going to break his nose. Kate seems to guess his intentions though and moves to stand between him and Henry.

"Don't," is all she says and it's enough for him to let out his breath, realizing he's been holding it, and slump against the wall.

"Sorry," he mumbles, actually meaning it. Henry isn't the one he's angry at after all. He doesn't even know _who_ he's angry at.  
>As soon as the elevator doors open he rushes out, leaving Kate, Henry and the dent in the metal wall behind.<p>

…

Even in his distracted state of mind, he notices the worried glance McGee sends him every time he thinks Gibbs isn't looking. He can't deal with it.

"_What_?" he barks, feeling bad when the younger man shrinks back at the harshness of his tone.

"Nothing… " For a moment it looks like McGee wants to say more, but he doesn't.

"Just... try to find her, okay?" he almost begs, knowing they don't even know where to start, as whoever took the Israeli didn't leave any usable prints or anything else traceable behind.  
>The younger man looks awfully worried then and it really makes him suspicious. There is something the Probie is keeping from him.<p>

It takes about five minutes, but eventually Gibbs does what he's been waiting for: He leaves for coffee. As soon as their boss is out of hearing range, which in Gibbs' case means in the elevator at least two floors below, he gets up and walks over to McGee's desk.

"Talk to me," he merely states, knowing it's clear what he means.

McGee avoids looking at him and bites his lower lip before answering hushedly. "Uh… while you were away someone called on your desk phone. Blocked Caller-ID, I couldn't trace it. But I… I picked it up and there was a man on the other end. When he realized I wasn't you, he immediately hung up, but I could hear someone yell a name in the background."  
>McGee finally looks up at him. "Tony, the name was Ari."<p>

Now that was the ultimate shock. Could it be that Ari Haswari was back? And that he's kidnapped his own sister? Would be one hell of a coincidence if there wasn't a connection.  
>"Probie, I bet he has Ziva, we just need to find him to find her!" he says, almost smiling. This is the best thing that's happened until now while simultaneously being the worst thing.<p>

"Well… I…"

"Spit it out, Tim!"

"I don't think Ziva got kidnapped."

"What?! You think she ruined her apartment like that for fun?" Now he's angry again, actually bordering on the front to absolutely furious.

McGee swallows nervously. "Tony, she's Mossad. We cannot forget that. And Ari Haswari is her _brother_. What if all of this was just one big plan from the beginning?"

He cannot believe that. He doesn't want to, either.  
>"That can't be."<p>

"You gotta admit that it makes sense."

He doesn't admit it. "If Haswari is really behind all this, we need to get Kate off the case," he says instead. McGee nods and immediately proceeds to call the Director. Before he can even dial, the ringing of a phone slices through the sudden silence. It comes from Ziva's desk.  
>Within a second he answers it, "DiNozzo."<p>

"Ah, Anthony! I was hoping to catch you this time."  
>The voice is more familiar than he's hoped it would be.<p>

"Ari," he acknowledges calmly, putting the phone on speaker while signing for McGee to trace the call.

"How is the lovely Kate?"

"How's Ziva?" he counters.

"She does not wish to talk to you. "

"I find that hard to believe," he says through gritted teeth, while the tiniest voice in the back of his head actually does start believe it.

The man on the other end chuckles maliciously. "Trust me. I know my sister. You are not the first man she slept with for information."

McGee's eyebrows shoot up at that statement, but he continues to trace the call.

"What do you want?"

"Thank you for the information about NCIS. It has helped me a lot."  
>With that the line goes dead and he slams the phone down, turning to McGee, who shakes his head apologetically.<p>

"I couldn't trace it, the call was too short."

"Damnit, McGee!" he yells, kicking Ziva's chair forcefully, before starting to pace between the team's desks. Neither he nor McGee says a single word until their boss returns. Gibbs narrows his eyes at both his agents before addressing him directly.

"Something you wanna tell me, DiNozzo?"

Before he can answer, the elevator doors open to reveal a very excited Goth in a very short skirt who looks like she's just witnessed a puppy being boiled alive.  
>"Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs <em>Gibbs<em>!" she yells, almost crashing into their boss when she runs around the partition next to Ziva's desk.  
>"I got a match on a partial print that didn't belong to Ziva or Tony!"<p>

The bullpen fills with silence as three pairs of expectant eyes are on her, but the forensic specialist merely hands a file over to Gibbs, who raises an eyebrow at her before opening it.

"Ari," he says, his expression darker than he's ever seen before.

He clears his throat, getting his boss' attention. "Yeah, that's kinda what I wanted to tell you."

…

The whole team, including Abby, Ducky and even Palmer, are gathered at MTAC, where Gibbs is briefing the Director.  
>He stands next to McGee, arms folded over his chest. The younger man turns to him, "What did Kate say?"<p>

"Well, she was… shocked, to say the least," he sighs, "But she's just going to stay at Henry's until we catch that son of a bitch." McGee nods and they both turn their eyes towards the big screen. After McGee actually didn't manage to at least get the approximate location the call came from, he basically spent every minute trying to call it again, in the hopes that Ari would answer it for some more trash talk.

Suddenly his phone beeps and he gets it out of his pocket, yelling "Boss, I'm getting a call from a blocked number!"  
>Immediately McGee and Abby are rushing to separate computers, nodding at him to pick it up.<br>"Yes," he says as calmly as he can manage while his pulse is equal to that of a race horse after crossing the finish line.

"Tony? Tony, it is me." her voice is barely above a whisper, but he would recognize it out of hundreds of others.

"Ziva. Where are you?"

"I cannot tell you that. I only called to say goodbye as I am flying back to Israel with my brother. I am sorry I misused your trust," her words feel like bullets fired straight into his heart. He looks at McGee, who motions for him to keep the conversation going.

"I don't believe you," he says, as it is the first thing that comes to his mind.

"You do not have to, but it is the truth. I only used your team to gather information. I lied to you all the time. Except when I told you at our first meeting at the beach, that I do not take just anyone with me there."

"Ziva, I have met a lot of people in my life, a lot of girls too, and not one of them was as intriguing as you are. You're special, you're exotic and you're… _you_. And you cannot tell me that all of this was an act, because I've been in this job long enough to tell the difference, okay? And even _if_ all of this was just some… _game_ for you, it certainly wasn't for me. Just so you know that."

She's silent on the other end for about thirty seconds until she answers, with a slightly shaky voice, "I need to go now. Just… keep our first meeting at the beach in good memory."

"Ziva, don't do that, don't hang-" the line goes dead and he sighs in defeat, "…up on me."  
>He turns to his team, meeting Ducky's gentle eyes first and Gibbs steely glare last. "Did we get a location, McTracker?"<br>The younger man nods. "Good."  
>Suddenly Abby comes running towards him.<p>

"I am so, _so_ sorry, Tony," she says before hugging him tightly. He chuckles.

"I had to say something to keep her on the phone, no big deal, guys." But he cannot look at his friends while he says that and he knows they know that everything he said was very true, not just some distraction.

Suddenly his head shoots up as he has a sudden realization and he jogs up towards the door, leaving his team staring after him. In the bullpen he grabs his backpack and car keys, or he wants to grab them, but a hand is around his wrist from out of nowhere, "What do you think you're doing, DiNozzo?"

"I'm going to get Ziva," he explains simply, yanking his hand free and walking towards the elevator, not really caring if his boss follows him or not. He's already made up his mind.

"How do you know where she is?"

"She told me," he shrugs while punching the down button on the elevator. When his boss raises an eyebrow, he explains. "Our first meeting wasn't at the beach. It was in the warehouse in Tel Aviv."

"Where you went without backup," his boss states. He just nods, because the elevator arrives and there's nothing more to say. He's surprised when Gibbs is the one calling McGee for the exact location of the warehouse he's heading at. I was something he'd wanted to do once he was in the car.

"And what do you think you're doing, boss?"

"I'm your backup this time," Gibbs answers grimly before stepping out of the elevator and leading the way to the team's Sedan and knowing it's probably less conspicuous than his Mustang he follows. Before his boss gets in the car he turns to him. "Never get personally involved in a case. It's a rule, that's there for a reason, y'know?"

He sighs, "Well, looks like I'm pretty involved, huh?"

"Any chance of getting uninvolved?"

"Can't do, boss," he says before actually getting in the car, "And don't even try to stop me."

When his boss gets in the car as well, he does something unexpected; he chuckles. It's a sound without much humor in it, but it's a chuckle nonetheless.  
>"Never said I was going to stop ya," he says before speeding out of the NCIS parking garage.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>And that's where all the action starts. Thoughts?<strong>


	14. Warehouse, DC

**Well, another chapter.**  
><strong>It took me the whole day to write this. (Literally. I started at 9 am and just finished... it's midnight.)<strong>  
><strong>And I'm still not really happy with it, but hey, this story needs to be finished, so that's what I'm doing. I'm sorry for the lack of quality or originality in this chapter. <strong>

**Disclaimer: _I'm tired_.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14 - Warehouse, D.C.<strong>

His boss speeds through the streets of the capital with a speed that would make Ziva proud and he stops counting traffic rule violations when they cross the third red light without Gibbs even blinking. Not that he minds, all he can think about is that Ziva is in more trouble than he's wanted to believe until now and he swears to himself that if that half-brother of hers even hurt her in slightest, he is going to be the one putting a bullet through that guy's brains.  
>The car's tires screech as Gibbs takes a sharp left turn, only narrowly avoiding a group of cyclists, and he knows they're nearing their destination. For a moment he closes his eyes and tries to even out his breathing, not really succeeding.<br>With a jerk the car comes to a halt at a tall fence and he jumps out, gun drawn, before his boss even kills the engine.

"Where to, boss?" he asks while looking around in search for anything that could give away the terrorist's location. His boss shrugs and just starts walking along the fence, looking for a way to enter the area behind. To his immense surprise it takes Gibbs less than a minute to find a well-hidden gate and they both start to find a way to open it, which proves as a bit too easy as the lock is easily broken. With a shrug he pushes the gate open and cautiously walks through, hesitating briefly as he stands on the other side. It is too quiet.

He's proven right when shots start ringing through the air. Immediately he takes shelter behind a container, only to realize that the shots are coming from two masked guys on top of the container nearest to the one he is hiding behind. He fires blindly while trying to think of a way to get past them. The fire ceases as suddenly as it came, filling the air with an eerie silence. He walks along the container's back only to discover a third figure behind the two others. With a relieved sigh he recognizes his boss.

"They know we're coming, DiNozzo," he yells, before knocking both guys out with two well-placed punches ,"better hurry up!"

He nods and jogs towards the giant warehouse in the distance. At least he now knows this is actually the right place. An odd calmness overcomes him when he stands at the iron doors.  
>"Hey, Ari! You got a visitor!" he yells at the top of his lungs. They already know he's there anyway. He hears muffled voices coming from inside, but doesn't understand what they are saying. He can't even be sure which language it is. Slowly the heavy door opens the tiniest bit. He chuckles inwardly as he realizes that this is the second time in 24 hours that he has he barrel of a gun pointed at his face by an Israeli.<p>

"Drop your weapon," a heavily accented voice orders and he obeys, slowly putting his own gun to the ground and lifting his now empty hands, palms facing the terrorist. The guy opens the door further and pulls him in, immediately closing and locking the warehouse again. It takes a minute for his eyes to get used to the dim lighting situation and he desperately wills them to see anything really. He's forcefully shoved against a wall as someone checks him for hidden weapons and he prays that they at least won't find his knife. Suppressing the utter relief he feels when they don't even take his backup gun, he obediently follows the ever growing group of men around him to a separated area, behind a tower of heavy wooden boxes. There are several old sofas and chairs that look like they've already seen much better days, but no one is sitting there except for one man.

Ari Haswari.

He already feels his blood boiling with rage beneath his skin, but does his best to keep his calm exterior, only nodding once in greeting. The Israeli smiles at him somewhat warmly as he looks up from the gun he's currently cleaning.

"Now, why is it not a surprise that you came here?"  
>Clearly this is a rhetorical question, so he doesn't bother saying anything in reply. He just stares darkly at the slightly younger man in fro not him.<br>"Please, have a seat,§ Ari motions to one of the chairs. He walks over and sits down. The chair is more comfortable than it looks and he relaxes the tiniest bit.

"I am going to ask you one more time," he says calmly, but with an unfamiliarly hard edge to his voice, "Where is Ziva?"

Ari chuckles to himself while putting the gun in front of him back together. "I believe she was the one giving away our location then?"

"_You_ gave it away when you called her desk phone," he says, leaning back in his chair. At his movement four of Ari's men immediately have their weapons loaded.

"You are a terrible liar, Agent DiNozzo," the terrorist says with a crooked grin before yelling something in another language over his shoulder. He hears two people approaching them, but he's not prepared for what he sees when Ari's heavily armed men step aside. "I believe you have already met my cousin, yes?"

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," he murmurs to himself as he recognizes the new arrival.

"Shalom," says Chayim, "remember me?"

And how the hell could he forget that bastard. This whole thing is getting worse by the minute. He immediately re-phrases this statement in his head when no one other than Ziva steps out from behind the other Israeli; It was getting worse by the second.

"Ziva?" he asks incredulously, not understanding what's going on, "This is a joke, right?"

The woman in question shakes her head with an arrogance he's never seen in her, "No, Tony, this is definitely not a joke."

"Would someone please explain all this to me?" he yells, jumping up from his chair. Within a second he's pinned to the ground by three men. The air is knocked out of him as he connects with the hard floor and he struggles hard to regain control over himself.

Suddenly Ziva is at his side, cradling his head in her lap. "You said you would not hurt him, Ari!"

"And _you_ said you would stop him from coming here, sister," Ari growled, "There is nothing holding me from killing him right here and now."

"I wouldn't say that," comes a familiar voice from the shadows. Chayim yells some orders in Hebrew and, with a group of men, disappears around the corner, opening fire. It doesn't even take a minute before his boss steps into the light. Alone.

"Agent Gibbs," Ari acknowledges, "I already wondered where you were."

Gibbs shrugs, "been busy."

"And what now?"

"I want my agents back."  
>The Israeli laughs right at Gibbs' face, but his mood changes quickly when shots start ringing through the air yet again and a SWAT team storms the place, encircling the now outnumbered terrorist group.<p>

By now he's stopped seeing dots before his eyes and tries to get up with Ziva's assistance. He can't believe they have won, just like that. Ari and the rest of his men don't stand a chance against them now. It's over. One by one the terrorists drop their weapons in defeat, but somehow nothing of what's going on seems to bother Ari, who still calmly holds on to his gun.

"Boss, something's wrong," he says when Gibbs goes to stand next to him, "he's too calm."  
>His suspicions are confirmed a moment later when the Israeli rips open his jacket to reveal a blinking device with several wires connected to it.<p>

"_BOMB_!" Gibbs yells, drawing his gun again.

"I would not shoot, if I were you. This bomb goes off and all the others I have planted throughout this warehouse will detonate as well," Ari warns smugly, "Now if Ziva would be so kind as to join me… I have a plane to catch."

Ziva's eyes meet his for a second and her expression tells him that this is goodbye for her. She takes a deep breath and turns to follow her half-brother, who's already starting to leave, confident that no one will dare to go after him.  
>He grabs her hand before it's out of reach and holds her back. "Stay," he pleads trying to get her to look back at him. She merely shakes her head.<p>

"I can't," she whispers.

Sure you _can_, Ziva, it looks more like you don't _want_ to," he says rather harshly, but at least now she's looking him in the face again.

"No. I _can't_. Because if I don't go with him he will _kill_ you." She yanks her hand out of his grip and walks over to her brother, who grabs her as soon as she's within his reach and holds his gun to her head.

"She is right, you know. And it also works the other way around; you follow me she _dies_." With that Ari leaves. He stares after them perplexedly, before drawing his backup gun and sprinting after them.

"DiNozzo!"

Ignoring his boss completely, he runs through the labyrinth of boxes and containers. They're not that far ahead, it shouldn't be that hard to find them. He stops for a second to listen, but all he hears are the voices of several SWAT members yelling at the terrorists to tell them about the other bombs' locations and his boss threatening to kick him off the team if he keeps going after NCIS' most wanted Hamas operative without backup. He keeps running until the darkness doesn't even seem that dark anymore and he blames it to his throbbing head. It takes him a few moments to realize that it's not his imagination tricking him, but that it's actually getting brighter. The warehouse has another entrance. He should have known.

As he steps outside he doesn't care that the light hurts his eyes. Squinting, he looks from left to right, but neither Ari, nor Ziva are anywhere to be seen.  
>"What did I tell you about following me?" comes a quiet voice from behind him. He turns so quickly, it makes his already hurting head spin even worse. Ari is standing only a couple of feet away, gun at Ziva's head. She doesn't look scared, but her ragged breathing and something in her eyes tells him that she's actually terrified, even though she's doing a good job at overplaying it.<p>

"_Let her go,"_ he wants to say, but he's completely out of breath.

"I will count from three own to one. If by then you are _still_in my way, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through her head. A Familiar situation, is it not? Me shooting the one you care about, Agent DiNozzo?"

He takes a step towards them.

Three."

He's aiming his gun at the terrorist.

"Two."

Another step.

Ari smiles as his finger brushes the trigger.

"One."

The shot rings to through the air, to him it feels like everything is happening in slow-motion. The body goes limp and falls to the ground, the earth beneath it quickly darkens with the blood it soaks up, the victorious shooter smiles with satisfaction…

Ziva runs into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder. He embraces her tightly, pressing his lips softly into her hair and closing his eyes for a moment, before looking at his partner, "Good shot."

…

Gibbs jogs towards the three of them as they turn up at the opposite site of the warehouse again and eyes them questioningly. He doesn't let go of Ziva's hand while he explains to his boss that Ari is dead and not going to hurt anyone ever again. Gibbs nods grimly in acknowledgement, before sending Kate a worried glance.

"That son of a bitch deserved far worse," his partner growls and he feels Ziva flinch slightly. He doesn't blame her. Ari was her brother after all, and he still has the conversation they had on the beach in his mind where Ziva told him how different Ari was back in their childhood.

"Kate, you're not supposed to be here!" an angry voice yells and Henry comes jogging towards them, "What the _hell_ were you thinking?"  
>Kate looks like she wants to apologize, but whatever she wants to say is cut off when boyfriend's – and now he's sure that's what he can call the guy –lips are on hers in a fierce kiss. He smiles to himself and looks away to give them at least some kind of privacy. Kate blushes in a bright shade of red when she pulls away and clears her throat. "Sorry."<p>

He's not exactly sure if she's apologizing for the kiss or risking her life. Probably both. With an apologetic smile Kate grabs Henry's hand and pulls him a couple of feet away. Immediately he feels Gibbs' eyes on him.  
>"I'm not going to apologize, boss," he says quietly, and before Gibbs can say anything he quickly adds; " I'm not going to try and justify my actions either."<p>

"Good," the older agent replies before his eyes wander to the woman by his side, "You should go see Ducky. _Both_ of you, DiNozzo." His boss waits until he nods before exiting the warehouse.

With a sigh he moves to leave into the same direction Gibbs did, only to almost get a heart attack when he steps outside and sees about fifty reporters at the fence. He sighs again, shaking his head and dragging Ziva over to where Ducky and Palmer's truck is parked. The old ME immediately stops what he's doing when he sees them approaching.

"Ah, Tony… You look terrible, if I may say so."

"Thanks, Ducky," he says with a chuckle, "You should see the terrorist."  
>Even though he avoids the name on purpose, Ziva flinches again and he squeezes her hand softly. There's no response from her.<p>

"Oh, I _will_ see him personally. It will still be my pleasure to weigh his liver," the doctor says grimly before starting to check Ziva for injuries other than the obvious scratches and bruising. He's more than relieved when Ducky gives Ziva thumbs up.

"Could you take a look at his head," Ziva suddenly speaks up, nodding in his direction, "he hit the ground quite hard earlier and I think he might have a concussion."

Ducky frowns for a moment, but checks the back of his head and his eye-reaction, "I believe you are right, Agent David. "  
>He hisses as Ducky cleans out what he supposes is a wound from where his head connected with the concrete floor.<p>

"It's just a scratch, Ducky."

"This _scratch_, my dear Anthony, may even require stitches. If you don't want an infection, that is," the ME's tone doesn't leave room for any further argument and so he just patiently waits until he is finished. "There, as good as new."

"Thanks," he says and before Ducky can start one of his ramblings he again grabs Ziva's hand and leaves to search for Gibbs. She stops him after they turn a corner and walks behind him to inspect the wound herself.

"It may scar," she states.

"Chicks dig scars," he jokes, earning a punch from her.

"Not at the back of the head."  
>He doesn't miss the small smile that crosses her face then, but it's gone before he can smile back. Suddenly the floor seems to be of great interest to his favorite Israeli.<p>

"Hey," he moves her chin up, forcing her look him in the eyes, "you okay?"

"No," she sighs, hesitating for a moment, "but I will be."

That's good enough for him, for now at least, and he pulls her into another tight embrace, glad that she's okay. That they _both_ are okay.

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><p><strong>Still two or three chapters left :) Feedback still appreciated.<strong>

Didn't prove-read it that closely, sorry for mistakes.


	15. Tony's Apartment

**I have a confesson to make: This will be the last chapter of this story.  
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**Originally I had planned to explain the aftermath of the Ari-case in several chapters, but school starts again soon and, to be completely honest, my muse left me to deal with this story alone, so I'm all out of ideas.  
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**So this chapter basically explains everything, but in a flashback kinda way. It's set over a month after the last one. I sincerely hope you'll enjoy it anyway :)  
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**Disclaimer: _I own a lot of things... sadly NCIS isn't one of them._  
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><p><strong>Chapter 15 - Tony's Apartment<strong>

The knock on his door is earlier than he's expected, but who would he be to complain? She lets herself in with her own key and he gets up to greet her with a smile.

"Hey," he says softly, taking the bags containing Chinese take-out from her and pecking her quickly on the lips, before disappearing into his kitchen. She follows him and helps him by handing him two plates so he can put their food of the containers. They don't need many words to communicate, and he likes it. It's been over a month since Kate shot Ari and it's taken a while for Ziva to recover.

**…**

_In the beginning he didn't notice her change in behavior, but when she started to distance herself from him again, he knew that her brother's death affected her more than she would let on._

_He wouldn't let her deal with it alone, though. Every time she refused to answer his calls he would turn up at her apartment, where he usually found her drunk or in a sobbing bundle on her bed and every time he would stay with her, whispering soft nonsense into her ear, so she would fall asleep eventually. With time she started to talk to him; tell him all those stories about her childhood with Ari and Tali and even her mother. He felt honored beyond measure for all the trust she had in him to tell him this. It put their relationship to a whole new level, which scared the shit out of him, but also made him happier than he'd been in a while._

**…**

They eat in comfortable silence, their movie of the night being Salt with Angelina Jolie. It wasn't his favorite, but he was definitely watching it in the best company he could get. Every once in a while he feels her eyes on him and turns to look at her. She just smiles and turns her attention back to the screen without saying a word. In moments like this it drives him crazy not to be able to read her thoughts.

"What is it, Zi?" he finally asks, putting his plate on the coffee table and fully facing her. She raises an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing," she says, but her eyes sparkle mischievously. He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for her to tell him what's on her mind. After several moments of stubborn silence, she finally gives in, "Fine. I talked to my father today."

Now he certainly wasn't suspecting that. "_What_?"

**…**

_Eli David came to Washington the day after they had arrested Chayim and Ari's henchmen. T man furiously stormed Director Vance's office and made so much noise, all work stopped for the better part of ten minutes. It took three agents and Ziva, who had to come up from Abby's lab, to calm him somewhat. The sad part is that he didn't come because his son was dead or his daughter could have died, but because a Mossad operative he trusted had betrayed him. He requested to talk to Chayim, but was refused that as the terrorist was the only one beside Ari who could tell the bomb SWAT where their bombs were located in the warehouse._  
><em>Later he came down into the bullpen where Ziva was waiting, more or less an emotional wreck. As soon as she saw him descending the stairs her shoulders straightened and she pushed his arm off her shoulders.<em>

_"Father," she said with a nod._

_Instead of answering in a civilized tone, Eli started yelling God knows what in Hebrew, but Ziva didn't once shrink back. She merely listened and answered in Hebrew as well. After two minutes of talking her father nodded once and left the NCIS building together with his security guards._

_Later on she told him that her father had ordered her to come with him back to Israel the same night. It came as a shock for him, of course, he had only just gotten her back, but he told her that he would support her choice, whatever it turned out to be. She smiled and kissed him. The kiss soon turned heated and clothing was shed. It was then that he realized that she wasn't going anywhere._

**…**

"Tony?" her voice calls him back to their present conversation, "You were out for a minute."

He chuckles, "Yeah. Sorry. Only had to think about your last encounter with your old man."

She at his words, but her lips turn up into a small smile, "It was different today."

"So, he _didn't_ want you to go back to Israel?"

"He did," she says, "But that is beside the point," he wants to say something, but she raises a finger to shut him up and so he keeps listening, "He gave me a choice today. Either I go back and take up my old position at Mossad or stay here, become a US citizen and keep working for NCIS." He's dumbfounded to hear that and feels his jaw drop. "I chose the second option, of course," she adds in case he didn't understand that.

Suddenly something clicks in his brain and realization hits him. Ziva David, the woman that had fascinated him from the moment he first heard her voice in a dark warehouse, was staying in the US, and with that in his life. "But… _Why_?" he chokes out.

She laughs, "I do not know, Director Vance seems to be very persuasive. My father also somehow seems to like you, although that does seem a bit strange to me."

He frowns, "Okay, first of all: Ouch," he clutches a hand over his heart as if she just hurt his feelings terribly, "Second: I didn't ask why your father gave you a choice, I asked why you wanted to stay."

For a minute she seems to be thinking hard for the right words but then she crawls closer on the couch, whispering in his ear, "The climate is much more bearable in summer."

He suppresses a laugh, and pushes a lose strand of hair behind her ear, "That all?"

"No," she says seductively, "I also chose to stay because of certain people. McGee turns out to be a wonderful friend."

He rolls his eyes and pushes her off him in mock hurt, but before he can complain her lips are on his and he forgets what he wants to say. "That's more like it," he says a bit breathlessly when she pulls back. She rests her head on his shoulder, eyes back on the TV, but he knows she's not actually watching the movie. Neither is he.

**…**

_Director Vance called them into his office a week after the warehouse incident, requesting a verbal explanation of their actions, not trusting their reports enough. He thought it would cost him his job, but instead after they had explained themselves – he had done most of the talking, as he knew Ziva wasn't quite up to it after one and a half bottles of Vodka the night before – the Director got up and patted his shoulder in appreciation._

_After that Vance had offered Ziva a permanent position in his Agency, the only condition being she became a citizen of the United States. She as flattered, r so she said, but she said she didn't think her father would approve. That had the Director thinking for a minute before he told them that he would personally take care of that. They never heard from him again._

**…**

"Which team will you be on?" he asks casually while putting the dishes in his newly purchased dishwasher. He bought it when Ziva started sleeping over regularly and both were too lazy to do the washing up.

"I do not know yet," she says with a frown, "but I believe while Agent Ribbons is still on maternity leave, I will stay on Gibb's team."

He grimaces and she tilts her head to the side questioningly. "I don't think Gibbs is going to like that. Y'know, Rule 12 and all?" He closes the dishwasher and leans against his kitchen counter, facing her.

"Do you not think we can stay professional at work?" she asks, while stepping closer to him, one of her hands wandering up his chest. He swallows audibly, looking deep into her eyes, before grabbing her hand and pulling her flush against his chest. She yelps in surprise but the sound is cut off when he kisses her eagerly. When his lips leave her moth he kisses down her neck, sucking on a sweet spot, which makes her gasp. "You know what?" she gets out after another kiss, "Maybe it would be a good idea to change to another team."

"Maybe," he murmurs, taking her hand and towing her after him into the direction of his bedroom. She follows with a soft chuckle. At the door he throws her against the wall, unbuttoning her blouse in slow-motion. "You could always marry me for citizenship, you know?" he whispers into her ear.

"One step at a time, Tony," she warns and for a second he thinks he might have scared her, but she smiles as she pushes him through the door and throws him onto the bed before proceeding to undress him in the same torturously slow way he had started.

"God, I love you," he says, not realizing it's actually the first time he said it out loud. Her lips silence him before he can start rambling and when she pulls back her eyes are softer than he's ever seen them.

"I love you too."

**FIN**

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><p><strong>Okay, so that's it. It's been amazing writing this and I thank everyone of you for your support.<br>I'm sorry that my updates got less frequent with time and the story didn't quite grow up to your expectations, but it's been my hugest project yet and it somehow failed a bit at the end.  
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**Nevertheless, I am happy with the outcome and I hope you are too.  
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**See you soon at another story! A last review on the way out?  
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**Love,  
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**MiRii xx  
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